


Obsession

by ARtheBard



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 01:46:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5229212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ARtheBard/pseuds/ARtheBard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Obsession. Every athlete deals with it. Obsession to win. Obsession to beat your best times. Obsession to be the best. But what happens when the obsession is in the mind of a delusional young man? When he comes back into the life of the woman he covets, someone will end up paying for that obsession with their life. And that someone could be Ali or Ashlyn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here is the second idea that latched onto my muse and refused to let go until I typed it out. It is a bit shorter but more action packed than the last one. Hope y'all enjoy this next little folly.  
> \--AR

**March, 2008**

“ALI! ALI! KRIEGER!”

Ali chuckles as she jogs over to the stands to sign autographs for the fans calling out to her and to her FFC Frankfurt teammates. Silke Rottenberg nudges her.

“They just think your accent is cute,” the keeper teases her friend.

Ali grins. “Whatever. It’s just nice that they’ve accepted me on the team.”

“What’s not to accept? You make me look good!”

Ali just nods and accepts the first program as she pulls out her sharpie. Truth is, homesickness was starting to set in for the 23 year old and losing herself in the adoration of fans was helping...even if she didn’t understand everything they were saying to her. After about the 10th program signed, a voice rings out above the others.

“WE ARE!”

Her head jerks up. “PENN STATE!”

She sees a cute man, about her age, with shaggy brown hair and kind eyes smiling down at her. He gives a wave.

“Okay, maybe I’m not a Nittany Lion but I am American,” he states with a smile.

Ali’s grin broadens. “Dare I ask where your collegiate alliance lies? Can’t have you being a Big 10 rival or something.”

“Nope, not that. Go to a small liberal arts college. Just here for a year abroad.”

Ali had continued signing autographs even though her heart is bursting with happiness more about talking to a fellow Yank.

“Cool. Uh, look, I’ll admit I am homesick. How about grabbing coffee or something later?” she asks with a boldness that surprises her.

His eyes sparkle happily. “Sure!”

She asks for his phone and types in a time and the address for a coffee shop near her apartment. She hands it back with a smile. “See you there. Oh, uh, what’s your name?”

“Klaus. Klaus Davidson.”

“Klaus? I thought you were American,” she questions.

He shrugs. “It’s the perfect story for a cup of coffee.”

Ali laughs, her nose crinkling. “Okay then. See you later.”

She signs autographs for 30 more minutes before the team meets to discuss their win. As they are splitting up for the day, Silke stops her.

“Uh, Ali, did I see you make a date with a fan?” Silke asks in concern.

“Sort of. Silke, I’ll be fine. Promise. It’s just coffee.” She sighs. “Don’t take this the wrong way but...it’ll be nice to speak to an American for a little while.”

Silke nods. “Okay. But still...be careful. Call me when you get home.”

“Yes, Mom,” Ali says as she rolls her eyes.

“I’m serious. You know how some fans can be...what’s the word...obsessioned?”

“Obsessed. I know. He’s just a college kid looking for a bit of home, too. I’ll be fine.”

“You better be. Otherwise I will turn you over my knee, Junge.*”  
 

* * *

 

Two hours later Ali walks into her local coffee shop and sees Klaus already waiting. She quickly orders her regular and goes to sit with him

“Hi!” she says happily as she sits down.

“Hey. You played great today,” Klaus tells her.

“Thanks. I’m really loving the team and how well we work together despite the language barrier.”

“Do you think you’ll stick around long enough to learn German?” he asks.

Ali nods. “Already trying. Learning mostly soccer terms for now but hope to eventually be able to hold a conversation with my teammates. And to know when they are picking on me,” she adds with a nose crinkling grin.

He laughs and sits back as Ali’s coffee and pastry are delivered. She takes a sip then looks at him.

“So, I believe you owe me a story about your name?”

“Ah, yeah. So, my father is in the Army back in the States. My mom is German. They met when Dad was stationed over here. They thought a year abroad here would be good for me to learn more about my family history and stuff since I’ve lived everywhere but here since I was 3.”

Ali nods, understanding the way military families move around. “That’s cool. Are you liking it?”

“I didn’t at first. But then I heard about a couple Americans playing for FFC Frankfurt and figured if you two can play a game while being yelled at in a language you don’t know then I can surely be fine attending class since I am fluent.”

“Good way to look at it,” Ali says with a smile. “So where have you lived?”

The two talk for 3 hours. Ali enjoys Klaus’ company and agrees when he asks to see her again.

“Sure. But, to be up front, I’m not looking for a relationship,” she tells him. “I just have so much going on with soccer and stuff I don’t want to lead you on.”

Klaus smiles. “That’s fine. I have classes and stuff, too. So let’s just agree to see each other when we can. You know, a couple of Americans needing a bit of home here in Deutschland.”

Ali laughs and nods. “It’s a deal.”  
 

* * *

 

For the next few months things seem fine. Klaus and Ali see each other when her schedule allows. Then she has to cancel a couple of times due to team events coming up unexpectedly. Each time Klaus says it’s fine but then he gives her the silent treatment for a few days.

“He’s acting like a spurned boyfriend,” Ali tells her brother one night on the phone.

“Maybe despite what you said about just being friends he thought there was more,” Kyle states the obvious.

“Maybe. But why? We’ve never done or said anything that would imply a romantic relationship,” Ali points out.

“Does that matter to him? He may not see things the way you do, Buttercup.”

“Ugggh! Why do guys only think with their penis?” she grumbles.

Kyle laughs. “Do you really want _me_ to answer that?”

“NO! Let’s talk about something else,” she grunts. She takes a deep breath. “How’s...things with...you know, you?”

Kyle grins at what she is trying not to ask. “I still haven’t had a drink or anything since May 6, 2007. Some days are easier than others but I’m going to make it, Alex. I promise.”

“I know you will, Kyle. And if you need to get away from things, come see me.”

“Uh, sure, the land of beer and Oktoberfest. That sound smart to you?” he teases.

Ali grins. “You’d be fine here. I’d make sure of it.”

“I know you would.” He takes a deep breath. “I’m going to make it, Alex. And in a few years I’ll be someone you can be proud of.”

“You already are someone I’m proud of, Kyle. I love you. And I know you’re just going to keep getting better and better.”

“Thanks, sis.”

Before Ali can say anything more, there is a knocking at her door. “I hate to do this, but a couple of the girls are coming over tonight for movie night. Sounds like they are early,” she says as she gets off her couch to go to the door.

“That’s cool. You girls have fun and don’t do anything I was rumoured to do,” he teases.

Ali laughs. “Right. No chance there. So take care and I’ll talk to you next week unless you need me sooner.”

“You got it. Love you, Alex.”

“I love you, too. Bye,” Ali says as she opens the door.

A furious Klaus stands in front of her. “You love WHO!?”


	2. Chapter 2

Ali takes a step back. She had never told Klaus where she lived so she is surprised to see him on her doorstep and more than surprised by his anger.

“Klaus? What are you doing here?”

He pushes past her. “Where is he? Who were you talking to?” he demands.

Ali stands by the door, not planning to shut it in case she has to run. Her friend has her scared.

“I was on the phone with my brother. You know I call him every Sunday to have a meal together and talk.”

He spins towards her. “Your brother. Right!”

Ali’s back stiffens. “Look, what’s your problem? And what are you doing here anyway?” she asks angrily. “I never told you where I lived, Klaus!”

He stomps towards her. “You think I didn’t figure out where you lived? How do I keep tabs on you if I don’t follow you?”

“Tabs on me? What the hell are you talking about? I think you need to leave,” she insists, gesturing out the door.

He leaps forward and slams the door out of her hands. Her eyes widen as she backs up against the door. The heavy smell of alcohol streams from his mouth.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he says menacingly. “Someone has to keep you in line, Alexandra.”

Ali swallows hard, terrified. She would have never expected to see this side of her...friend? She takes a calm breath.

“Look, Klaus, I’m not sure why you’re so angry but...but I really was talking to Kyle. And now a few of my teammates are on their way over so- -”

“No they aren’t. I cancelled your little movie night.”

Ali frowns. “You...you what?”

“I got their numbers out of your phone. When I heard you plan this little get-together it made me angry. I wanted to see you tonight and you didn’t even ask my permission for them to come over.”

“Permission? What the fuck are you talking about? And...and how did you know about movie night? We talked about it in the bathroom at the practice field...” her voice trails off. She then pushes him back. “OH MY GOD! How long have you been following me?!”

His face is so red Ali fears he is about to have an aneurism. “Long enough to know you can’t be trusted. I love you, Ali, and it’s time you admit you love me, too!”

Ali shivers inside. She slips her hand into her hoodie pocket and starts to mess with her phone. “Look, Klaus, I think there has been a...a big misunderstanding. I don’t love you. You’re just...just a friend,” she says calmly.

“BULLSHIT!” he screams and punches the wall. He starts to stomp around, shaking his hand.

Ali uses his pain to slide her phone out enough to check it before she hits a speed dial, praying Silke picks up. She quickly hides her phone as Klaus turns back to her.

“You need to come with me,” he orders.

Ali shakes her head. “No.”

He slaps his palm into the door beside her head. She jumps in fear but is also relieved as she hears the faint sound of Silke answering her phone.

“YOU NEED TO OBEY ME!”

“Klaus, please, I don’t want to leave my apartment,” Ali pleads. “Why...why do we have to go anywhere?”

“BECAUSE! I have to take you to a priest so we can get married. It’s time for you to take your place as my wife!”

“WHAT?! No! No, I...I couldn’t...”

He grabs her by the arms. “STOP DISOBEYING ME!”

“Klaus, you’re hurting me! And...I can’t marry you without my family here! They...they wouldn’t like to miss my wedding,” Ali tries to reason with him.

Klaus lets her go and starts to pace. Ali feels her phone vibrate and slips it out enough to check. She sees the text from Silke and sighs in relief.

_“Police on way. Coming, too. Be careful!”_

She slips her phone back in her pocket and leans against the door, listening for the sound of the police. Klaus starts to scream about Ali needing to learn her place and obey her “man.” Ali says nothing, not really wanting him to turn his attention on her as he has this vile conversation with himself. He even goes so far to talk about ways to treat her until she learns the “proper” way to service him. She shivers in fear. She lets out a cry of relief when there is pounding on her door.

“Polizei! Die tur offnen!**

Ali rips the door open and throws herself into the hallway.

“NOOOOOOO!” Klaus screams and leaps towards her, only to be met by two large German police officers.

Ali bursts into tears as the crazed man fights with manic strength to get away from the cops to the object of his desire. She scoots back along the floor until her back hits the wall. She jumps as the door at the end of the hallway busts open. A split second later, she is in Silke’s arms sobbing. More police arrive and finally Klaus is secured and whisked away, the entire time screaming about his love for Ali.

“It’s okay, Junge. Everything is okay now,” Silke says over and over.  
 

* * *

 

Two months, and a new apartment with full security later, Ali finally stops looking over her shoulder. Her head drops into her hands in relief.

“Oh, thank God,” she mumbles.

Her German lawyer pats her shoulder. “This will ensure he gets the help he needs and has time to forget about you,” the woman says gently.

Ali nods. “I...I know. That day he...he was...he’d never been like that. And I had no idea he’d been stalking me for so long.”

The police investigation had shown Klaus had been following Ali virtually from the time she landed in Germany and he saw an interview with her on TV in the summer of 2007.

“Now, he will be hospitalized at least 5 years. Have you considered taking the loan to the American team?”

Ali nods. “Yeah, I’m going. I need...need to be around family for a bit and it will help me get back to match ready here in Germany.”

“It will also take you out of the papers and news here. That will help him forget you, too,” the lawyer notes. “When you return, you should be safe from him and his...delusions.”

“I hope so. God, I hope so,” Ali says, her body shuddering as she remembers that last confrontation. “If all goes well, I’ll never see him again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *“Polizei! Die tur offnen!* = Police! Open the door! (via Android Translator)
> 
> * Junge = young one (via Android Translator)


	3. Chapter 3

**October 2016**

They had done it! At the Olympics in Rio the U.S. team had done what no other World Cup Champions had managed to do: they had won the Gold. Just like the World Cup the summer before, they had gone into the games with people doubting their coach, doubting their new line-up, and doubting their heart.

But they had swept through group play without letting in a goal. They had stormed through the elimination rounds only conceding a penalty kick on a dubious call, and they had won the gold in a display of utter domination 5-0.

Soccer in the U.S. was still riding the wave of popularity it had seen the summer before. The Washington Spirit had defeated the expansion Orlando Pride for the NWSL Shield upon the players’ return from Brazil, giving Ali bragging rights Ashlyn knows she will never live down. But that’s okay. The women know it will be the last time they face each other across the pitch. The trade of Ali to Orlando was a behind the scenes “done deal” and it’s all in preparation for the real next step in their careers.

And now the team is in L.A., kicking off their second victory tour in 2 years. Ali and Ash are in their hotel room taking care of a little future business before going off to meet up with a few of their teammates.

“What about this one?” Ashlyn says, handing a profile to Ali.

Ali takes the donor profile and grins. “Did you get beyond the fact that he went to UNC?”

Ashlyn laughs. “Yes! Look at him, Ali. Seriously.”

Ali reads the profile. He is 6’2”, blonde hair, hazel eyes, pre-med at UNC, family health history is clean. She bites her lip and studies her fiancé.

“Other than that med school thing, he’s you, baby.”

Ashly nods shyly. “Yeah.” She gets on her knees in front of Ali. “I can’t be the biological mother to our child, Alex. But this guy...he could...I mean...there’s a chance...”

Ali cups the blonde’s cheek gently. “His genes and mine could mean the baby has traits like yours, right?”

Ashlyn nods. “Am...I silly for caring about that?” she asks nervously.

The brunette leans forward and gives her a peck on the lips. “Not at all, sweetheart. How about we put him in the ‘maybe’ pile and look for others that might resemble you? I guess I hadn’t thought how important that would be to you and now suddenly it is very important to me.”

“Really?” the keeper asks, her eyes brightening with her smile.

“Really,” the defender confirms.

Ashlyn grins and starts to go through the rest of her profiles, singling out the ones whose physical description is similar to her own.  
 

* * *

 

“So you seriously had no idea?” Sydney presses later, as a group sits around a table beside the hotel pool.

“None at all!” Ali insists. Several others at the table share Syd’s doubts. “I swear!”

“Think she’d have done it if the Pride had won?” ARod asks.

Ali chuckles. “Yeah, I do. She had it too well planned out with Pinoe. No way she wouldn’t have done it because she was celebrating the championship. We had planned to come out as a couple after the championship. I think she pretty much had it ready to go the minute I agreed to that and in all honesty I should have seen it coming,” she admits with a blush.  
 

* * *

 

_“THE WASHINGTON SPIRIT ARE YOUR 2016 NWSL CHAMPIONS!” the announcer screams._

_The stadium in Orlando goes crazy. Sure, the hometown team hadn’t won but since the league announced early where the final would be held, plenty of supporters for both teams had time to get tickets. It was a hard fought game with a Diana Matheson goal being the deciding factor off a rebound from a Crystal Dunn shot._

_Ashlyn had been pissed the ball went in but even she knew it was a hell of a shot. Her defense hadn’t covered the Canadian as they had swarmed the American forward. She could only get a light punch on the ball as she was hit by a scrum of players and DMath was there to clean up the mess. A few close misses by Alex Morgan and the whistle had blown. They had literally been minutes from overtime._

_“Son of a bitch,” Ashlyn gripes as she kicks the goalpost and drops to her knees._

_She feels pats on the back from her defenders but stays down a few minutes more to gather her thoughts. She senses her presence before anything is said. She looks over her shoulder to see her girlfriend._

_“Ash...good game,” Ali says, well aware Ash needs a bit of space after a loss._

_“Thanks,” the keeper says. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She stands and walks over to Ali, pulling her into a hug. “Congratulations, baby,” she whispers in her ear._

_Ali smiles. How could she not love someone who can so quickly go from anger at a loss to heartfelt congratulations? They ease back. Ali sees the question in Ashlyn’s eyes and answers with actions._

_Ali kisses Ashlyn. Deeply. Flashbulbs go off all around. This was no “gal pal” kiss. This was a coming out kiss. When it ends, Ashlyn feels someone pat her on the shoulder. Ali looks beyond Ash and is surprised to see Pinoe standing there._

_“What are you doing here?” Ali asks._

_“Special delivery,” Pinoe answers with a grin._

_She hands Ash a box...as the keeper goes down to one knee. Ali’s hands go to her mouth. Ash has tears in her eyes as she stares up at the love of her life._

_“Alexandra Blaire Krieger, you have been the most important person in my life for so many years. We’ve seen each other through ups and downs, injuries, championships, lost championships,” she adds with wink and shrug, meaning this game. Ali grins, “and there is no one I’d rather spend my life with no matter what else may come. Alex, I love you more and more every day. Will you marry me?”_

_Ali can barely speak. She nods, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Yes!” she croaks out._

_The players around them cheer as Ashlyn, with shaking hands, slides the ring onto Ali’s hand. She then stands and lifts her up, swinging her around as they share another deep kiss. Within a minute the proposal is on Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook._

_And fanfic writers leap on their computers to write this latest development into Krashlyn stories._  
 

* * *

 

Ali toys with her ring as she smiles, lost in the memory of that special moment. “I think the only thing that would have stopped her was if I hadn’t kissed her. Then she would have known I wasn’t ready.”

“Awww...you two are such adorable cheeseballs,” Sydney laughs.

“Aren’t we though?” Ali agrees.

“So, did you all finally set a wedding date?” Crystal asks.

Ali nods. “The 26th,” she says calmly.

Crystal nods at first then stops. “Wait a second...the 26th of what? November? Like a few weeks from now? THAT 26th?”

Ali giggles at the stunned look on the faces of her 3 teammates. “Yep. We figure everyone in our family will be around Florida because of Thanksgiving and it gives you all a few weeks to make arrangements.”

“Why so soon?” ARod asks. “I’d figure you for a big princess-style wedding.”

“Oh, I will still look like a princess but Ash has always wanted to get married on the beach. So, it will be a little bit of both our dream weddings. And so soon because...in January I will start IVF treatments,” she says with an even bigger grin.

“WHAT?!”

The three players leap at Ali, engulfing her in hugs and good wishes. The three then get on their phones and start making arrangements to be at the wedding of their friends.  
 

* * *

 

Five phones slap down on the table. “DONE!” Pinoe states proudly. “Sera and I will fly in Friday and fly out Monday.”

“Same here. Uh, minus the Sera part,” Tobin agrees.

“Dave and I will leave Sunday, unfortunately,” HAO says. “But thanks for giving me a good reason not to stay long at my Aunt Gladys’ house.”

“No problem,” Ash says with a chuckle.

“Damn it. Ash, I’m afraid you’ll be stuck with me for the whole week,” Whitney says with a grin.

“Well, since you had advanced notice I guess I can accept that,” Ash concedes.

“Wait! Why’d she get advanced notice?” Kelley pouts.

“Because I am her maid of honour,” Whitney explains.

“Ah. Okay. So, like, who is standing with who?” Kelley asks.

“Our brothers will stand with us. Then Whit with me and Ali’s old friend Liz with her. We’re not going to have the trainload Syd and Dom had, that’s for sure.”

“Coolness! Who’s officiating?” Pinoe asks.

Ashlyn grins. “You’ll never believe who agreed to do it...”

“Abby,” the other 5 say simultaneously, then burst out laughing.

Ashlyn frowns. “Hey! How’d you know that?”

“She always said she’d want to perform a wedding,” Pinoe notes. “Why not yours?”

“True,” Ashlyn chuckles.

“So why are you all getting married so quickly? I mean, y’all have been dating for, like, 20 years so what’s the rush now?” Tobin asks.

Ashlyn laughs. “20 years? Not quite but, well, maybe close. Anyway, we want to get it done, have time before camp for us in December and camp for me in January.”

“Ah, okay. That makes...wait...why just for you in January?” Tobin presses, seeing the glint in her old friend’s eyes.

“OH MY GOD! You’re knocking Kriegs up!” Whitney exclaims, finally understanding the rush to the altar.

Ashlyn’s face breaks into a huge grin. “If all goes well in January, yes I am,” she confirms.

Soon she is mobbed under a pile of players, so happy for her and Ali to finally be moving quickly towards their happily ever after. Everyone is so excited for the long time loves.  
 

* * *

 

Well...not everyone. From his dingy motel room on the outskirts of L.A. Klaus Davidson stares at images of Ali and Ash on the small screen of his telephone. He is not happy.

No, he is not happy. At. All.


	4. Chapter 4

“Okay, guys, great practice today,” Jill Ellis says after the third day of practice. “Tomorrow is going to be a bit different than originally planned. ESPN is doing a photo spread on us.”

“NAKED?” Pinoe shouts out, referring to the appearance of several players in the Body issue over the years.

Everyone laughs as Jill shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

“Sorry, Pinoe, you’ll need to keep your clothes on for this one.”

“Damn,” Pinoe pretends to sulk.

Jill just grins and continues. “Anyway, we’ll be heading a bit up the coast to the Topanga Canyon State Park so there shouldn’t be interference from fans and other press. Wear your regular training kits, not your uniforms. They want fun, informal shots. Maybe a soccer game or tennis soccer over rocks. Just some knocking around. Individual and team shots of all of you. Any questions?”

“You sure we can’t be naked?” Pinoe asks again.

“NO!” the team answers as a few squirt her with water bottles.

The team laughs and everyone gets their things together to catch the vans back to the hotel. They all laugh as they run with Pinoe’s naked idea and imagine ESPN trying to carefully stage the whole team so nothing shows.

No one notices the man acting like a worker as he picks up trash with a spike stick and slides it into a trash bag on his waist. Had they looked at him, they’d have seen his eyes, anger-filled, locked onto Ali. She had betrayed him. With a WOMAN! They would pay. Both of them would pay.

“So, Ash, we can help you with a wedding walk-though tomorrow!” Kelley jokes. “We can help you and your princess get an idea what it will be like to get hitched out in the open.”

Ash rolls her eyes. “Something tells me the wedding you all could dream up will be nothing like our real wedding. So how about we go with no on that,” she answers with a laugh.

The man cleaning the grounds is near them, clenching his teeth as he hears Ashlyn speak of marrying his Ali. He had heard about the photo shoot. There had to be a way to use that to his advantage.

And then Kelley sets her bag down so she can redo her hair.

Klaus steps closer and “drops” his stick. As he picks it up he lifts KO’s cell phone out of the end of her bag. He wouldn’t need it long, just long enough to get the contacts out of it. He carefully moves away as he ejects the sim card from her iPhone. Hopefully her numbers will be saved to it and not just to the device. He then moves towards the field and carefully drops the phone where someone might see it.

As he continues to “clean” he chuckles when Carli finds the phone and Kelley thanks her profusely for finding it but never checks to make sure it is intact. He stands where he can watch the team until they are out of sight. Well not the whole team. He had just watched Ali.

“Soon, baby. We’ll be back together soon,” he vows as her van drives out of the sportsplex.  
 

* * *

 

Back in his motel room, Klaus inserts the sim card into an iPhone he had stolen from someone a few days before. He doesn’t need it for much, just needs to access a few numbers and get the rest of his plan in place. He scrolls through the contacts and copies the numbers for Ali and Jill Ellis into his disposable phone. He then tosses the iPhone in the trash and leaves the hotel.

“Time to prepare for you, my love,” he whispers.

He drives his car around until he finds what he needs to further his goal. He would have a brief window to get Ali away and his plan had to be perfect. The photo shoot the next day instead of practice actually makes his original plan even better. All it would take is one phone call to get Ali and that blonde bitch alone. Then he would have his Ali back and Ashlyn would be dead.

“You won’t mourn her long, Ali. My love will heal you immediately. You’ll see,” he promises, as his fingers caress a photo lying on his passenger seat. In it Ali smiles proudly, the World Cup trophy in her hands. “I’ll make you happier than you were the day you won that hunk of metal. You’ll see, Ali. We’ll be happy forever.”  
 

* * *

 

The next day the team has been laughing and having fun in the canyon for about 15 minutes when Jill gets a phone call. She nearly ignores it when she sees it is “unavailable” but knows it could be important.

“Jill Ellis,” she answers.

“Yes, this is Peter Smith with U.S. Anti-Doping. I am at the hotel waiting for 2 of your players who were picked for random screening today. I’m disappointed they are not here.”

Jill frowns. “We never got a notice that you all were spot checking anyone. We’re on a photo shoot. Can you wait a couple hours?”

“No! How far are you from the hotel?”

“Uh, about 45 minutes.”

“Then they have an hour to return or we will assume they are dodging the test.”

Jill rolls her eyes. “No one is dodging anything. Who do you need?”

“Ashlyn Harris and Alexandra Krieger.”

“Alright, I’ll send them back now.” She hangs up. “You idiot,” she mutters, then walks towards her team. “Guys, your attention. Ash, Ali, just got a call. You’re up for a drug test and the rep won’t wait. He’s at the hotel now.”

The two players roll their eyes and groan. “Why us? Because we’re engaged?” Ashlyn gripes.

“Most likely though they will never admit it,” Jill replies. “Get going. We’ll see you back there in a little while. If you’re not back there in an hour they will assume you are dodging the test and that means suspension.”

Ali and Ash grumble but get their gear together. It’s not the first time a drug test has interfered with fun and it won’t be the last. Jill tosses Ashlyn the keys to one of the vans. It will make it a tight ride back with just 3 vans but it is manageable. As they drive, Ash turns and grins at Ali.

“You know...with them gone a while...we can have some fun after the test,” she wiggles her eyebrows.

Ali laughs, her nose crinkling. “You’re so bad.” She pauses. “Okay!”

Ashlyn laughs and reaches out to her fiancé. She takes Ali’s left hand and gives it a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. And I can’t wait to sho- -”

Ali’s voice breaks off as a large SUV shoots straight across the road and rams the driver’s door of the team van. She hears the sounds of Ashlyn screaming, metal rending and the roar of the other vehicle’s engine as it rams the van off the side of the road. As the van jerks around, Ali’s head slams into her window, cracking the glass and popping her head open at the temple.

When the van finally settles, Ali’s head is bobbing as she fights to stay conscious. She slowly turns towards Ashlyn and her heart leaps in her throat. Ashlyn leans over the steering wheel. Blood covers her face and arm. Ali can see the driver’s door is badly crushed in and she panics, wondering if it has pierced her lover in some way.

“Ash! Ashlyn! Baby, can you hear me?” Ali calls as she fights to get her seatbelt undone. She breathes a sigh of relief when she hears Ashlyn moan. “Come on, baby. Wake up, honey. Please, wake up!”

Ashlyn’s eyes start to flutter open. She hurts. Everywhere. Her vision is blurry. The only sound she hears is a roar in her head, a lingering echo of the engine that had driven into her. She sees a figure beside her reaching for her.

“A...Al...ex...?”

“Yeah, it’s me, baby.”

The keeper’s vision clears and she can now make out the scared, bloody countenance of her fiancé. She sees Ali’s mouth moving but still can’t hear anything.

“A...lex?”

“Yeah, it’s me. It’s Alex!”

Before she can say anything more, someone busts out the already shattered window of Ali’s door. Ali turns and stares at the man beside the window. It takes her a second to recognize him.

“KLAUS!”

He drags her out. Ashlyn sees Ali scream in fear. She’s not sure what’s happening but knows she has to help. She tries to reach for the brunette but the man holds something to Ali’s neck. Ali’s body shakes and she collapses to the ground.

“NO! Al...ex!” Ashlyn grunts, fighting to get to her lover but stuck by her injuries and the seatbelt she has forgotten.

The man stares at her a moment then walks around to the driver’s side. He chips out the remaining pieces of Ashlyn’s window. Ash meets his eyes. They are devoid of life; like a shark. He smiles humorlessly then presses a stun gun to Ash’s temple. She screams before oblivion takes her.

He walks around and quickly binds Ali’s ankles and wrists with duct tape before walking up to the car he had stashed by the side of the road the night before. He sees the fear in her eyes as he shoves her in the trunk of the car. He caresses her cheek.

“Soon, my love. Soon.”

He slams the lid then goes back to the van. He makes sure it is still in gear then shoves it, hoping to send it all the way off the cliff, like he had done with the damaged SUV. Once it starts rolling he races back his car, and his love, then drives away.

Ashlyn sits unconscious as her van rolls towards the edge...spelling certain death for the keeper.


	5. Chapter 5

“What the hell?” Kelley mutters as she messes with her phone.

“What’s wrong?” Christen Press asks.

“Like, half my contacts are gone. What the hell?” she mutters again. She pushes a few buttons and her eyes widen. “CRAP! And a lot of my pictures are gone. What the fuck?”

“Let me see,” Whitney offers. She studies the phone a minute. “Did you have memory card?”

“Of course.”

Whitney hands the phone back. “It’s gone. Check it out.”

Kelley looks into the slot where it goes and sees Whit is right. “Fuck!” She starts to dig through the pocket in her bag where she keeps her phone. “When the hell did it fall out?”

“They can’t just fall out,” Christen points out. “You have to eject them with a pin or something.”

Kelley snorts. “Well, since I sure as hell didn’t do that it must be defective or something.”

“Maybe when it fell out of your bag after practice yesterday it hit the ground just right and it came out,” HAO suggests.

“Maybe,” Kelley thinks. “I mean it would be a million to one chance but who the hell knows.”

“It could be in your room, too,” Whitney points out. “If it jogged loose yesterday you could have lost it back at the hotel.”

“Then let’s hope to hell they haven’t vacuumed my room,” Kelley states, irritated at the loss of the information.

Pinoe, who is driving, suddenly slows down. “Damn.”

“What?” Kling asks as she looks up. “Whoa.”

“What?” JJ calls from the back.

“Glass all over the road and metal, too. Bad accident must have happened here while we were at the shoot.”

“Hope no one was hurt,” Kling says as Pinoe maneuvers around the debris, watching in side mirror as the other two vans do the same.

Soon they are back up to speed, heading to the hotel. Pinoe offers to drive Kelley to the practice facility if the sim card for her phone isn’t in her room. When they pull up at the valet parking, Pinoe tosses the keys to the fella.

“Park this with our other van, Jeeves,” she jokes in a snooty accent.

The guy laughs and nods, assuming she is talking about the vans pulling in behind her. In the lobby, Jill calls out to Pinoe and Whitney.

“Hey, have you two heard from Ash and Ali?”

“Nope,” Whitney states.

Pinoe slips her phone out of her pocket and checks it. “No, they didn’t call or text while I was driving.”

Jill frowns. “I can’t reach them either.”

Whitney blushes. “Uh, they had time alone...” she trails off and lets the other two draw their own conclusions.”

Jill rolls her eyes. “Didn’t need that image in my head. Thanks. Look, find them and tell them I need to speak with them about their drug test.”

As they start to walk off, Carli walks in, a frown on her face. “Jill, there’s only 3 vans out there.”

“What?”

“And we asked about Ash and Ali and the valets said they never came back,” Hope adds.

The team members stare at each other. Pinoe suddenly goes paler than normal. “The accident.”

“Oh, shit!” Jill whips out her phone. “You guys double check the hotel to make sure they aren’t here and didn’t just park somewhere else. I’ll call the police about the accident. And if you see the guy from Anti-Doping tell them the ladies are missing, not dodging him.”

Hope and Carli race for the elevator as Pinoe and Whit turns towards the doors. “Hey! Where are you two going?”

“Back to the accident scene,” Whitney says, knowing Pinoe is thinking the same thing she is.

The other two players nod and will the elevator to hurry up. Once back in a van, Whitney pulls out her phone.

“One other possibility...” she hits dial.

“Whitney! How’s my second favorite defender?” Kyle Krieger greets her.

“Worried. Hey, have you heard from Ali or Ash today?”

“No,” he answers, his voice getting serious. “We’re meeting for dinner tonight. What’s going on?”

“We can’t find them and we saw this place where there was an accident and we just...we don’t know, Kyle. If they call you or show up call me and have them call Jill, okay?”

“Okay. Should I go to your hotel?”

“Not yet. In case they are planning to surprise you or something. When I know more I’ll call.”

She hangs up and Pinoe chances a look at her friend. Both are trying to hide their fear but the twisting road they had taken to the photo shoot is in their head. They want nothing more than to get up there and alleviate their fears. LA traffic has other ideas as they come to a standstill.

“FUCK!” Pinoe shouts and slaps the steering wheel.

“Calm down, Pin. They could be fine and that accident unrelated. Just...keep calm,” Whitney says while inside her stomach is turning somersaults.  
 

* * *

 

Jill stares at the phone as she hangs up. Carli and Hope stare at her.

“What is it?” Carli presses.

“Well, before you came down I was able to confirm no accident was reported along that road.” She takes a deep breath. “So I took a chance and called our contact at US Anti-Doping.” She looks up and meets Carli’s eyes. “There was no check scheduled for Ash or Ali today.”

The three women stare at each other, wondering what the hell is going on. Where the fuck are their friends?


	6. Chapter 6

Ashlyn’s eyes flutter open as the van is rolling towards the edge of the cliff. She would have screamed in relief if she could when her van gets lodged on a rock about 5 feet from the drop-off. She has no idea how secure her position is so she knows she needs to get out quickly but carefully.

“And how the fuck do I get out when I can’t move?” she thinks to herself.

It takes about 15 minutes for the effects of the stun gun to wear off. Ashlyn carefully moves her left arm then winces.

“Oh yeah...broken,” she mumbles.

She tries to move her left leg and screams in pain. She shifts a bit and looks down, seeing a bit of jagged metal stabbing into her leg.

“Oh, that’s not good, Ash. Not good at all.”

She brings her right hand over and presses a bit and determines it’s only an inch or so in.

“You can’t stay here forever,” she notes. As if to prove her point, the van shifts a bit, slipping a bit closer to the edge. “Right, like I needed that confirmation.”

She tries to undo her seatbelt but it is jammed. She jerks and hits it and does anything she can to get it to release but it’s no use.

“FUCK!” she forces out.

She looks around and sees Ali’s duffle bag. A tape cutter! She’ll have a tape cutter in there. Ash carefully leans towards it, ignoring the pain in her leg and arm, worried more about shifting the weight in the van. She needs another inch. She sits for a minute, gasping for breath and looks down at the metal in her thigh. She grits her teeth...and slowly pulls it out of her leg.

“FUCK! SHIT! DAMN!” she curses.

But being released from the door gives her just enough leverage to scoot farther over in her seat and reach Ali’s bag. She quickly finds the tape cutter and uses it to slice through the seatbelt straps. By the time she is done, her weakened body is near exhausted. She sits still until she catches her breath.

“Alex needs me. Gotta...gotta get out, Ash. Alex needs you,” she reminds herself.

She carefully scoots out of her seat onto the passenger seat. She freezes as the van wobbles again but only slides forward a couple of inches. She pushes the door open...

...and feels the van shift and start to roll.

She only has one chance so she leaps out the door as the van gives a hearty groan and continues to roll until it plunges off the edge of the cliff. Ash is shaking in fear. She barely hears the crash as it reaches the bottom, telling her just how far she’d have fallen if she hadn’t escaped. She allows herself a brief moment to cry out her fear and pain. She then turns and looks up the hill.

“About...thirty yards or so, Ash. You can do that. Easy,” she encourages herself.

Thirty yards or so in a near vertical path to the first ledge the van had rested upon; the ledge where Ali was stolen from her. She rolls to her stomach and starts using her right hand and legs to claw her way up the embankment, only using her left arm when needed to brace herself. After 20 minutes she looks up and bursts into tears again.

She’d only made it about 7 yards and her body was ready to give out.  
 

* * *

 

Ali passed out during the ride in the trunk. Between her injuries and the bouncing the old car had done her body simply gave out. When she awakens, she is moving again. But this time she is on a bed, her hands and ankles still bound, her mouth taped shut, and her wrists are attached to a chain that is wrapped around the tape and locked to a headboard.

“Motorhome. I’m in a motorhome,” she notes. “But where the fuck am I? And what the hell...” Her eyes widen as she remembers her last seconds in the van. “KLAUS! How the fuck did he find me? Oh, God...Ash! What has he done to Ash?”

She looks around as much as she can but as far as she can tell she is the only one Klaus has taken. Tears leak from her cheeks as she remembers hearing the creak of the van moving. It dawns on her what he has done: he has sent the van, and Ashlyn, over the cliff. She sobs.

“No, no, no, no. Oh, God, Ash...NO!” she screams around the duct tape.

She starts to fight against the chain locking her to the bed, trying to rip it out of the headboard. She jerks her legs, trying to free her ankles. She is sobbing and getting frustrated as nothing she does seems to help her. She doesn’t even notice when the motorhome stops but suddenly Klaus is on top of her, staring down into her terrified eyes. He calmly smooths a lock of hair off her cheek.

“Shhhhh, Ali. It’s okay, baby. You’re safe now. I promise.”

Ali shakes her head no, her eyes full of fire.

He just smiles. “Yes, you are. We’re finally together, honey. And I got rid of that bitch that was leading you astray. She’ll never soil you or anyone else again. She died for her wicked ways. You’re free of her now, baby.” He leans down and kisses her cheek, not noticing her shudder and wince. “We’ll be home soon, Ali. You’ll love it there. We’ll be husband and wife and you’ll give me all sorts of kids, just like you always wanted. A houseful of kids, right? We’ll get right on that when we get home. I promise.”

He kisses her cheek once more then stands and goes back up to the driver’s seat to continue to drive to his remote cabin in Big Sur, an inheritance from his grandmother. Ali is terrified. She has no idea where she is going but she does know she will fight with everything she has to get away from this psycho and make him pay for killing Ashlyn.

“Oh, Ash, I am so, so sorry,” she thinks as she starts fighting the chain in the headboard again.  
 

* * *

 

Ashlyn shakes off the self-pity. Her laying in the dirt crying will not save Ali. She grits her teeth and starts to crawl again, determined to not even look up until she reaches the ledge.

After about 10 minutes, she grabs a stone and starts to use it to pull her body up but the stone gives way. Dirt and rocks drive her down the slope. She flails her legs and arms, screaming in pain when her left arm is the appendage that finds a shrub to help stop her slide.

She looks down and sees she has not slipped all the way back down. In looking up she wants to scream because the ledge is still so far away.

“Twenty yards. That’s nothing. Twenty. Fucking. Yards. Hell, you can throw the ball farther than that, Ash. You sure as hell can crawl that. You’re not a fucking wuss that can’t crawl just 20 fucking yards,” she taunts herself.

She starts the excruciating trek once more, fighting for purchase in the loose slag to prevent another slide like the last one. Yes, it hurts to force her damaged limbs into the ground but Ali needs her! She can take the pain if it gets her to Ali.

“I’m coming, baby. I won’t give up. I swear,” Ashlyn whispers into the wind, hoping Ali can feel the promise in her heart. She glances at her watch again. It doesn’t matter. Its hands are frozen in time at the instant the face was shattered in the accident. “Doesn’t matter. All that matters is getting up the fucking hill! Crawl, Ashlyn! CRAWL!”

She starts to inch her way up once more.  
 

* * *

 

Ali screams in victory as she finally dislodges the chain from the headboard. She sits up but the motorhome makes a sharp turn on a badly rutted road. The shocks in the old RV leave a lot to be desired and Ash is bounced up and off the bed. She grunts as she hits the floor and the air is forced out of her lungs. She fights to get control of her breathing using just her nose. She doesn’t even realize the RV has stopped until she hears his voice right behind her.

“Oh, Ali! Oh, sweetheart, I am so sorry! I guess I didn’t have you secured well enough,” Klaus says sincerely.

Ali rolls over onto her back and stares into the face of insanity. She struggles as he carefully lifts her up into his arms.

“Stop...just...stop struggling! Ali, stop struggling! PLEASE!” he finally yells in fury.

Ali freezes in fear. He stares into her eyes. He then lets his eyes travel over her face and her body. She shivers under the scrutiny. He smiles, misinterpreting that response.

“You’re eager to start our life together, too.” He strokes a finger down her cheek. “You have only gotten more beautiful over our time apart. I wrote you every day, did you know that?” He sighs. “Of course not. Those bastards wouldn’t allow me to send you the letters. But I did, baby. I’d talk about our future and the kids you always wanted and everything we dreamed of together during our brief courtship.” He leans down and kisses her forehead. “If Silke hadn’t interfered we’d have all that already. But we’ll start today making up for lost time. I promise.”

Ali is terrified! The only things she knows for sure are 1) if she doesn’t go along with him she’ll never have a chance to escape. And 2)...Ashlyn is dead.

“I’ll make sure this bastard pays for what he did to you, baby. I swear,” she vows to herself.

And it is the thought of living to avenge her fiancé that gives Ali the strength she needs to forget her fear and start concentrating on how to win Klaus’ confidence so that she will have a chance to escape.

Klaus carries her into the rustic, one-room cabin and lays her on the bed. He hurries over to the camp stove that heats the place and also serves as an oven. He tosses in some kindling and a fire starter. Once it is burning he adds some logs and runs back outside to the RV. Ali just studies the cabin, looking for what she would need to help her make an escape. Her eyes dart to the door as he runs back in with a couple sacks of groceries.

“I hope you still like the same types of food you did back...well, before,” he says worriedly. “I got a lot of what I remember us eating and a few things that I think you might like now based on interviews and stuff I have seen online.” He giggles happily. “I can’t believe my fiancé is so famous!” He starts to unpack the bags and then pauses to look at her. “You know, I got to watch you make that penalty kick against Brazil. They let us watch the games. I was...was so proud of you.” His face darkens. “Then the doctors got all upset when I told them how proud of you I was and I wasn’t allowed to watch any more. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to see the last two games. I wanted to watch them. I promise.”

Ali just gives a slight nod, hoping he takes that as forgiving him. He smiles, obviously accepting it. He goes back to unpacking the bags. When he finishes he walks over to the bed and draws his hand down Ali’s cheek again. She has to fight not to pull away from his touch.

“For Ashlyn. Put up with this for Ashlyn,” she repeats over and over again.

He then pulls a knife out of his pocket and Ali freezes. But he flicks it open and cuts her ankles free. Ali sighs in relief as she feels the blood start to flow freely back into her feet. She wiggles her toes a little to make sure her feet are ready if she gets a chance to run. Then Klaus dashes that dream by slapping a cuff around her left ankle.

“Don’t worry the chain is long enough for you to walk to the dinner table or the bathroom,” he says when she whimpers, thinking she would be comforted by that information.

He then lays the knife down and brings his hands to her face. “This may sting a bit, baby.”

He carefully starts to ease the duct tape from her mouth, wincing when she does as the tape pulls at her skin. When it is finally off, he smiles.

“There. That’s better.”

Before she can ready herself, he leans down and gives her a kiss. She jerks her head to the side. His eyes narrow and he grabs her jaw tightly.

“You don’t turn from my kisses, Ali. I’m to be your husband and you will welcome my kisses,” he orders.

She is shaking in fear. There is no life in his eyes. There is no apparent way of reasoning with him. He is insane and she is just a player in his grand delusion.

“I...I’m sorry. I...bad...breath,” she croaks out.

His features immediately soften. Ali shudders at the scary change that takes over his countenance. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry. I didn’t think. There’s a toothbrush and toothpaste for you in our bathroom.”

“Th...thank you,” she croaks. She holds up her hands. “Can...you...?”

He smiles and grabs his knife. He carefully cuts away the tape. He then helps her sit up and he kisses her forehead.

“Go and freshen up, sweetheart. I need to go bring in some more firewood. It gets chilly here at night.” He rubs her arms. “Of course we’ll have body heat to help keep us warm.”

She forces a smile to her face and nods. He kisses her cheek then hurries out of the cabin to get the firewood. Ali stands and once she’s sure her legs are stable, she grabs the chain around her ankle. It is thick and welded to the shackle. She follows it to the end of the bed and finds it has been welded closed after being wrapped several times around the metal bedframe.

“Shit.”

She then walks towards the door but the chain stops 3 feet from freedom. She then goes to the kitchen. Maybe she can find a knife or something else that could be a weapon. Nothing but plasticware. She then sees the fireplace tools and hurries towards them, only to trip and fall to the ground when the chain brings her up short of her goal. She pounds her fists into the ground in frustration and fear. But the sound of boots on the porch spurs her into movement. She leaps up and races to the bathroom, lest Klaus have reason to start doubting her. She needed him to trust her if she wants a chance to escape. She shuts the door, noticing he has actually sawed off the bottom of the bathroom door to allow room for the chain.

“Sick son of a bitch,” she mutters.

Ali then notices the bathroom counter. It is lined with all the different beauty products she had used in Germany. She shudders. As far as she knew Klaus had only been in her apartment the day the police arrested him. But everything is not only the right brand it is also lined up just the way she always had things set. Her knees get weak and she sits down on the lid of the toilet.

“Oh, my God...he was...it was worse than we knew...”

A knock on the door makes her jump. “You okay, sweetheart?”

“Ye- -” she starts but her voice cracks. She swallows a couple times and tries again. “Yes, Klaus. Just...need some more time.”

“Okay. I’ll start dinner.”

“Okay.”

She sits a second more but knows she can’t stay there forever. She stands up and looks in the mirror for the first time. She gasps. Dried blood is flaking off her cheek. A couple of butterfly strips had been applied to the cut on her temple but they are now peeling off. Her hair is a mess. Her mascara smeared across her face. She looks a fright. She leans on the sink and fights back tears.

“But you look better than Ashlyn, you selfish wench,” she mumbles to herself. She finally can’t fight the tears any more. She sobs and drops down to her knees. “Oh, Ash...what am I going to do without you?”  
 

* * *

 

“How can it be this hot? It’s not this hot in Florida. Ever. Fucking California sun sucks,” Ashlyn thinks to herself as she tries to keep her body crawling up to the road.

She wearily lifts her head but the summit sways in her vision. She can’t even guess how far away it is anymore. And that might actually be a small mercy. Unknown to Ashlyn, her body is failing her. She’d only managed to go a few more feet since the last time she slid down. In her mind, she thinks she’s climbed higher but really still lays about 17 yards from possible salvation.

“Just keep going, Ash. You gotta tell ‘em about Alex. You...you gotta,” she tells herself.

She concentrates on reaching up with her right hand, having no idea her arm no longer obeys her mind. Her fingers weakly claw at the ground; her toes barely move her shoes. She feels the blackness creeping in.

“A nap. Just a quick nap and then...then I get...uh, I gotta go...somewhere,” her mind starts to wander and she smiles. “Wedding. Yeah...my...wedding. Marrying Alex...today...yeah...”

Her eyes slip closed and her breathing continues to slow down as her open wounds continue to paint blood down the wall of the canyon.


	7. Chapter 7

Jill, Hope and Carli are in the middle of the hotel lobby trying to convince an LA police officer that their friends wouldn’t just drive off for a romantic rendezvous or quick shopping trip or any of the other condescending options he has given as possible reasons for Ali and Ash to be missing.

“Look, they are not irresponsible teenagers happy to be away from Mom. They are adult women, responsible athletes, who would not skip a drug test and would not dodge out of the hotel for some frivolous fun!” Jill insists.

The officer sighs. “Look, you admitted the drug test was a joke. Maybe they set that up to get some alone time.”

“Look, you idiot, that’s NOT what happened!” Carli yells, as Hope pulls her back from the cop.

Even Hope sees the irony that she is the one protecting the cop from the rage of the Jersey girl. “Easy, Carli. Assaulting a cop is not a wise choice here and won’t help Ash and Ali.”

Carli just nods. Several more players run up.

“They aren’t in any of the stores for a 3 block radius,” Alex Morgan says.

“And they are not at the sportsplex,” Kelley confirms.

Jill turns to the cop. “What harm would it do to put an APB out on our van?”

“I can only do that if they stole it. You said you gave them the keys.”

“Actually, she gave them the keys to drive right back here. If they have taken it somewhere unauthorized then, technically, they stole it,” Becky points out logically.

Jill nods at her defender then turns to the cop. “I need to report a stolen van.”

The cop sighs and gets ready to put out the report for the stolen van. He still thinks it’s pointless but if it will shut all these hysterical women up he’d do it.

“Fine. Give me the info,” he says with derision.  
 

* * *

 

Pinoe and Whitney finally get out of the LA traffic jam and Pinoe breaks a few speed limits to get back to the canyon. She grunts in frustration when she has to reduce speed in deference to the curvy road. When they finally approach the area where they had seen evidence of an accident she slows down. Both women are scared of what they might find and what they might NOT find.

“The cliffs here...” Whitney whispers.

“Just think good thoughts, Whit. Just think good thoughts,” Pinoe says as she pulls off the side of the road.

The two women hop out and race across the road. Once there, they can see evidence or a vehicle sliding sideways off the edge of the road. They don’t see any vehicle, though. What they see is a drop-off to a short ledge and then another cliff.

“Fuck...you can see where a car went over the edge right th- -” Pinoe starts to note.

“ASHLYN!” Whitney screams.

Before Pinoe can stop her, Whitney is sliding down the hill. It is then Pinoe finally sees the body of their friend barely visible beyond scrub and rocks on the side of the hill. She pulls out her phone and hits 911, praying for a signal strong enough to go through.

“WE NEED AN AMBULANCE!” she screams and starts to give information to the emergency operator.

Whitney comes to a stop near her best friend and is momentarily frozen. Ash is coated with dust and blood, some of which is still fresh. But she doesn’t appear to be breathing. Whit eases closer to her, her mind filled with images of their time together.

“I swear if this is an elaborate prank I’m going to throttle you,” she whispers, while hoping to hell it is just an elaborate prank.

She gently eases Ash’s hair from her shoulder and places her fingers on her neck. She holds her breath until she finally feels a very, very faint pulse. She looks up at the road.

“GET ME A MED KIT! HURRY!” she screams.

Pinoe races back across the road to get the emergency kit out of the van. She opens the back door and lets out a yell of victory when she finds not just the little first aid kit she was looking for but one of their team trainer’s bags. It is filled with bandages, antiseptics and anything Whitney might need to help Ash. The blonde races back across the road.

“WHIT!” The defender looks up. “I’ll slide this down to you. Paramedics are on the way and the operator needs me to wave them down.”

“Okay.”

Whit moves until she is right in front of her friend and Pinoe lets the bag go. As soon as it is in her hand, Whitney moves back to Ashlyn.

“Alright, let’s see what we have here,” she says as she starts to pull out bandages.

“WHIT!” Whitney looks up. “What about Ali?”

Whitney had already looked but she looks around once more, her eyes finally coming to rest on the edge of the cliff. She fights back tears as she looks up and just shakes her head. Pinoe runs a hand through her hair and turns away. Whitney turns back to Ash.

“Now, let’s get some of this bleeding stopped.” Seeing the trail of blood from Ash’s leg, she eases to the other side of her friend and finds that nasty wound. She sprays it out with antiseptic spray then covers it with gauze and starts to carefully tape the bandage down. She hates the fact that her first thought is something so big should be bleeding more.

“Well, you’re going to have to get a tattoo to cover this one, that’s for sure. Yep, if you don’t that scar will be pretty ugly. But I’m sure you won’t mind that too much, will you? Now, let’s check this head wound. Not so worried about this considering how hard you head is,” Whit teases, praying for her friend to defend herself but Ashlyn remains silent.

Pinoe tears her eyes away from Whitney when she hears sirens. She curses the echoes of the canyon for making it impossible to tell just how far away the rescuers are. When she finally sees them she starts jumping up and down like a mad woman, knowing every second counts to save her friend. As the van pulls up, Pinoe races over.

“One friend is on the hill. The other went over the cliff. Someone has to go down there to see if she’s okay! Please!”

The EMT’s exchange a look. Neither of them want to point out the obvious: if someone went over the edge, that person is beyond help. As one medic makes their way to Ashlyn, the other pats Pinoe on the shoulder.

“Search and rescue will approach the van from the ground. She’ll be taken care of if she’s in there. I promise.”

Pinoe just nods, holding on to that sliver of hope that Ali could be okay. The second EMT grabs a backboard and slides down to Ashlyn. Though it seems to take forever, it is only 20 minutes from the time they arrive until they get Ash on a backboard, on IV’s and up into the ambulance. As it takes off for hospital, Whitney finally breaks down. She drops to her knees.

“She’s bad, Megan. She’s bad.”

Pinoe drops to her knees and pulls her Whit into a hug. She kisses her on the head. “Come on. Let’s follow them to the hospital. Call Jill. Let her know.”

Whitney just nods as Pinoe gets her up and back over to the van. After calling their coach, Whitney sighs. “I...I need to call...Ash’s parents. They should hear this from me.”

Pinoe reaches over and pats her arm. “After the hospital. Let’s have something positive to tell them, okay?”

Whitney just nods, trying to figure out how she could tell her best friend’s parents that their daughter has...NO! No, she wouldn’t think that. Ash is hurt and only hurt. That’s all she’ll have to tell them. Ash will be fine. She will be.

“You gotta be okay, Ash. Please be okay,” she prays.  
 

* * *

 

Jill hangs up from Whitney. “They found Ash. She’s being rushed to LA Memorial. It doesn’t...look good.”

“What...about Ali?” Kling asks.

Jill swallows. “No sign of her where they found Ash. The van...went off a cliff.”

Team members gasp, some grasping each other for comfort and strength. Nothing needs to be said. Their friends had been missing for 5 hours. Ash is barely clinging to life. Unknown to them Ali was still 45 minutes from a cabin in Big Sur. All they can do now is go show support for their keeper and pray. They get into vans for the drive to the hospital. The silence is finally broken by Christen.

“Maybe...maybe Ali went for help? She could have gotten out,” she suggests.

JJ pulls Press into a hug. “Maybe.”

“I like that idea,” Kling says. “I’m hanging onto that hope until there is nothing else to believe,” she states.

A few others nod. Slim hope is still hope. Once they get to the hospital they find Ash has been rushed into preparations for surgery. She has broken bones, a collapsed lung, extreme blood loss, dehydration, and some internal bleeding. As soon as she is stable enough for surgery they will be going in to determine the full extent of her injuries and setting the ribs that had punctured one of her lungs.

“If she makes it through surgery she has a strong chance of pulling through,” the doctor finishes.

“If?” Kelley repeats.

“Yes...if,” he confirms. “I’ll have a nurse keep you all informed. If you can, I’d reach out to her family. They’ll want to be close by.”

As he walks away, Jill runs a hand over her head. “I’ll call the Harris’ and- -”

“No, I’ll do it,” Whitney says emotionlessly.

Jill looks over at the woman. She still has blood on her arms, hands and shirt. Ashlyn’s blood. “Whit...are you sure.”

Whitney nods. “I’m sure.”

She walks off to a corner to make the call, the other Tar Heels on the team following her to give her support. Becky looks at Jill.

“What about Kyle and Ali’s parents?”

Jill nods. “I got them.”

The coach moves away to make the calls. Several players follow her, knowing she’ll need support, too.  
 

* * *

 

The team has been waiting for word for over an hour. Kyle is pacing with them, having raced over to the hospital after the call from Jill. A man and woman walk into the waiting room and stare at the gathered team.

“We’re looking for Jill Ellis,” the man says.

Jill stands and approaches him. “That’s me.”

“I’m Detective Damon Foster. This is Detective Lisa Shepherd. We’re following up on the incident that occurred this morning with your players.”

Finally the police believe something happened. Jill feels her anger flare. “Oh, so almost 6 hours later you finally think you might want to listen to us? When I’ve got a player missing and another fighting for life you finally want to start an investigation?!”

Becky and Carli grab Jill’s arms, shocked at the level of anger in the woman. “Easy, Coach,” Carli says gently. “They just want to help.”

Shepherd steps forward. “In our defense, the report just got to our desk once search and rescue confirmed there was no one in the van.”

“What do you mean?” Jill asks as the entire team and Kyle press towards the group.

“Uh, the rescue team got to the van. No one was in it. The second passenger,” she glances at her notes, “an Alexandra Krieger, was not inside. It’s believed she was out before it ever left the cliff, much like Ashlyn Harris.”

“Maybe she went for help!” Kyle shouts, floating that theory back out there.

“That’s been considered and we have searchers looking for her up and down the road,” Foster says. “But we wanted to follow up on a report from this morning about these two possibly being targeted. You said you got a call asking for them to return to the hotel?”

“Yes. They did as ordered but they never arrived. I contacted an official at US Anti-Doping and was told the two players were not scheduled for a drug screening. Whoever called it in did it to get them away from us.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Obsessive fan? Gambler lost a bet? Who the fuck knows?! That’s your job!” Jill shouts.

“Uh, since you brought it up, this is just one point we’d have to clarify,” Foster starts.

“No, neither of them gambled,” Kyle and Hope both say simultaneously.

“Ah, right,” Foster says. “What about ex-lovers?”

ARod shakes her head. “They’ve been together for years. No need to worry about an ex.”

“Okay.” He looks at Jill. “Mind if we borrow your phone? Our techs can trace the call that came in even if it was unavailable.”

Jill hands it over. “Do what you have to do and find our friend.”

The detectives leave. They hadn’t mentioned what else the search team had found: a stolen SUV that had damage consistent with ramming the van before they were both sent over the edge. They are treating the case as a kidnapping but don’t want that to get leaked just yet. They need the kidnapper to think he’s getting away with it to give Ali a better chance of surviving.  
 

* * *

 

Ali finally exits the bathroom. She has washed her face and straightened her hair up as best as she could without a shower. She had even applied light make-up, knowing Klaus would remember her whole “look good, feel good, play good” philosophy. He sees her and smiles.

“Wow...you’re just so pretty.”

“Thank you,” she says quietly. “Uh, Klaus, how can I shower and wash my hair and such?”

“There’s a shower stall in the RV. I just have to hook a hose up to the well. Do you want to do that now?” he asks, standing from the bed.

“NO! I mean, maybe later,” she says, wanting the shower as a stall tactic for later. “So, um, what about clothes?”

He frowns. “What you’re wearing is fine.”

She looks down at her practice uniform. It is wrinkled and dirty. “Um, sure, for now, but I’ll need clean clothes after I shower,” she points out.

He seems at a loss. This is not something he had considered. He thinks a second and nods. “I’ll buy you something in the morning. Maybe a few pretty dresses so you never have to take you ankle jewelry off.”

Ali swallows hard. Ankle jewelry? He thinks the cuff is jewelry? Holy fuck. “Um, yeah, okay. That would be nice.”

He grins. “Good, good. So, um, what do you want to do tonight?”

Ali swallows. “Um, I don’t know. I’m a bit hungry so, uh, what about dinner?”

He chuckles. “Oh, right! It’s ready. Sorry, baby.” He walks over and kisses her cheek, then takes her hand and leads her to the table. He pulls her chair out for her and scoots it in as she sits.

“Thank you,” she says.

“No need to thank me for...” his voice trails off as he looks at her hand. He grabs it and rips off her engagement ring, his face contorted in rage. “THIS is not allowed here!”

He stomps to the door and opens it. Ali’s heart breaks as she watches him fling her engagement ring out into the woods.

“NO! PLEASE NO!” she screams before she can stop herself.

He spins around and glares at her. He storms back to her and rips her up out of the chair and slams her into the wall.

“What. Is. Your. Problem. Ali? Do you love me or her?” Ali can’t speak. He shakes her. “TELL ME! Do you love ME or that DYKE?”

Ali is trembling. She knows the truth and she knows Ashlyn knows the truth. And she knows Ashlyn would want her to lie to survive. “You,” she answers weakly.

“Then that ring isn’t NEEDED! RIGHT?”

Ali nods in terror. “Ri...right. I just...thought maybe...we could sell it...for money.”

Almost as quickly as they had gone dark, his eyes lighten again. Klaus smiles, the kindness he had shown in youth coming through the madness. “Oh, sweetheart, that’s so nice of you. But we’ll be fine. I’ve got plenty of money for us. The people that owned that RV were retirees and only carried cash. We’ll be fine. I promise.”

Ali is nearly sick as she realizes he has just admitted to killing people for that RV. He had admitted it as easily as if he was telling her he found a quarter on the sidewalk. Those lives had meant nothing to him. They were just a means to an end.

“Now, baby, how about we enjoy dinner. I hope you like chili mac.”

Ali can only nod, not even able to speak her terror is so strong. Klaus leads her back to the table and helps her sit down. He takes his place and doles out two bowls of food.

“Enjoy, sweetheart.”

Ali can only pick at her food but Klaus eats heartily as he also talks about their future.  
 

* * *

 

The nurse monitoring Ashlyn’s vital signs looks up from her clipboard and starts. Ashlyn’s eyes are open and she looks like she is struggling to speak. The nurse leans forward.

“Are you with us, Ashlyn?”

Ash’s eyes dart around until she sees someone is beside her. She doesn’t know who it is but knows she has to get the words out. She has to speak so someone will know. She is fighting to get her mouth to work. The nurse leans closer.

“Are you trying to talk? Hold on a second.” She grabs a sponge and carefully wets Ashlyn’s chapped lips and swollen tongue. “What are you trying to say, Ashlyn?”

“It’s...close...Ali...close...” she croaks out.

The nurse pats the athlete’s arm. “It’s okay, Ashlyn. Ali is okay. You just worry about you right now.”

Ashlyn’s eyes immediately look relieved. They slowly flutter closed and her breathing evens out. Another nurse nearby walks up.

“What did she say?”

“Something about Ali being close. I’ll let the detectives know what she said in case it means something to them.”

“Is Ali the one missing?”

The first nurse nods. “Yes, I’m afraid she is.” She leaves the room to give the cops the message, even though she thinks it was most likely just mad ramblings.


	8. Chapter 8

“It’s close? What does that mean?” Shepherd asks the nurse.

“No clue. If she says more I’ll let you know.”

The detective nods as the nurse hurries off. After a moment, she wanders down the hall to the waiting players. They all look up expectantly when she enters.

“Good news: Ashlyn woke up and spoke a little.”

“Oh, thank God,” Whit says as her legs give out. Thankfully Alex and Tobin catch her and get her into a chair.

“She is still in pretty bad shape and we’re not sure the meaning behind what she said. Maybe you all can help us.” She looks down at her notepad. “She said, quote, It’s close Ali close.” She looks back up. That mean anything?”

Everyone is shaking their heads. Everyone but Kyle. He stands, his face pale. “It wasn’t ‘close’. I bet she was trying to say Klaus.”

“Oh, my God,” HAO gasps, having heard the story from Ali.

“Who the hell is Klaus?” Jill asks.

“Psycho in Germany,” HAO replies.

Kyle is pinching the bridge of his nose, his face scrunched up as he tries desperately to remember. “Klaus...Klaus...what the fuck was his last name? FUCK!” He whips out his phone. He knows one person that will remember and he hates the idea of bringing this name up in case it’s not what Ashlyn meant. He finally hits the number. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“KYLE! What’s happened?” Deb demands of her son.

“Ash woke up and said something I think means...means Ali’s stalker is back. I know his name was Klaus but what was his last name?”

Deb’s heart freezes. This man had threatened, in open court no less, to kill her daughter if she didn’t marry him. It couldn’t be him. It just...couldn’t be. She would never forget the man or the fact that she swore she’d hurt him if he ever laid a hand on her baby again.

“Davidson. His last name is Davidson. His mother is German; his father a US Army officer. Kyle, if it’s him...”

“I know, Mom. I know. See you soon. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she says, her voice cracking as she hears her flight to LA being called. “Boarding now. See you in 6 hours.”

Kyle hangs up and passes on the information. Foster studies Kyle.

“Tell me, son, if she knows him and he did take her, what will she do?”

Kyle wipes at the tears on his cheeks. “My sister is the strongest, bravest, smartest woman I know. And she is a survivor. Our last name means ‘warrior’ in German. She will use everything she has to fight to survive. I guarantee it!”

“So she would play along if he is delusional?” Shepherd presses.

“Definitely. She will play along until she finds a way out. You’ll see. You find that bastard and you will find my sister. Alive!”

Foster nods. “Good to know.”

He pulls out his phone to get his contacts looking for the German mental patient. The team goes back to waiting for word on both of their friends but this time...this time they feel a glimmer of hope.  
 

* * *

 

Multiple prints had been found in the SUV that went over the cliff. Using the information from Kyle Krieger, Foster had called a buddy at the FBI and asked him to see if he could get permission to run the prints against German records. With that on the work, he then called one of his researchers and had her pull anything she could on Klaus Davidson here in America.

“Anything new?” Shepherd asks as she walks up her partner.

“Nothing yet. You?”

“Possibly. Couple of uniforms got called to a campground near Topanga. Old couple had been staying there in their RV. Retirees touring the country kinda thing.” Foster nods in understanding. “They checked out a day early and someone parked an old Chrysler sedan in their spot. As they glanced inside they saw a bunch of pics of Ali Krieger. Looks like magazines and some printed off the internet.”

“Damn. You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Most likely. Told the unis to run the plates. If they track back to Davidson they need to pop the trunk and- -hold on a second,” she says as her phone rings. “Shepherd.” She listens a second. “Holy shit. Get an APB out on their RV.” She hangs up. “They didn’t have to wait for the plate run. They noticed blood dripping from the trunk. Old couple inside. Dead.”

“Son of a bitch. Dumped his car and took their RV. Makes it easier to transport her if he has plans beyond just taking her, if you know what I mean.”

Shepherd nods solemnly. “Object of his obsession and a convenient bed. Not good. Let’s hope her brother’s right and she’s damn good at playing along.”  
 

* * *

 

After dinner, Klaus had insisted they sit together on the couch and “catch up” on all they had missed. Ali nervously considers how to talk about her life which for the past 6 years had revolved so much around her relationship with Ashlyn. She fears just saying her love’s name will set Klaus off.

“Well, um, you know, I’ve just been playing soccer. Germany, America, Sweden even,” Ali says, hoping that is enough.

“Oh, come on! Give me some highlights! Like, who was your favorite team to play for?” he asks excitedly.

“Uh, well, obviously I am honoured to play for the US on the national team. It means a lot to represent the country.” She thinks a second. “And playing for the Spirit has been great, too. We won the NWSL shield this year and then we won the cham- -”

Suddenly he sneers and grabs her by the shoulders. “NO! Do NOT talk about that game! I saw what she did to you after that game!”

Ali shudders. She hadn’t thought about the proposal seen round the world. She nods. “Right. I’m sorry, Klaus. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She takes a gamble. “That ending really did ruin the game, didn’t it?”

He slowly sits back, studying her carefully. Right now the manic side of him that doesn’t quite trust her is in control. Without warning he swings his hand and backhands her.

“If you bring her up again, I will not be so forgiving,” he says in a menacing whisper.

He gets up and storms out of the cabin. Ali draws her legs up to the couch and drops her head onto her knees. She cries, wondering when she will say the wrong thing and be unable to save herself from his fury.

“For Ashlyn...have to stay alive for Ashlyn. I have to fight so he pays for what he did to her. I have to,” she tells herself over and over again.  
 

* * *

 

It is nearly midnight when the Harris family and Deb arrive from Florida. The team sweeps them all up in hugs, wishing they had news to pass on to the worried family members. As if they had wished it to be, the surgeon walks into the room. They all get quiet as they stare at him. Tammye Harris and Deb Krieger grip hands while Kyle holds them both in his arms.

“Ashlyn just came out of surgery,” the man states. “We were able to stabilize her ribs and her re-inflated lung is holding nicely. She has some bruising to her left kidney and her spleen had been punctured but we were able to cauterize the wound and save it. There is a lot that is very positive.” He takes a deep breath. “However, she lost a lot of blood. In fact, I’ve never seen anyone lose that much blood and survive.”

“Because Ashlyn is the toughest bitch on this team,” Whitney interrupts, as the others nod.

The doctor smiles. “I can believe that. Right now she’s in a medically induced coma.” Tammye and Deb gasp and cling to each other even tighter. “We need her to remain still to give her lung time to heal and make sure there are no other internal issues that need to be addressed. It will also help her body focus on replenishing its blood supply on its own. Right now she has gotten four units of blood and a fifth is going in now. For reference, the body only holds 10 units. The wound in her thigh, though ugly, was mostly superficial and we’ve been able to close it. Her head wound was also superficial.”

“What about a concussion?” Tammye asks.

“I’m afraid there’s no way to tell that right now. I will say her cognitive functions look good and the EEG looks as good as it can be in her current state. Once she wakes from the coma we can reevaluate for any neurological issues. Right now our first priority is just to keep her alive. That’s the best I can say about that right now.”

“How...how long until she wakes up?” Kelley asks.

“For now, I plan to keep her under 24 hours. I will then reevaluate the wounds and decide whether to keep her under longer or start reducing the drugs to allow her to awaken.”

With no more information to impart, and no more hope to give, the doctor exits the room. Jill slowly turns and looks at her team. They are still in the workout clothes they had worn for the photo shoot. Old cups of coffee and take-out containers litter the room they had taken over by virtue of their numbers. She takes a deep breath.

“Ladies, there is nothing more we can do here tonight. You know your friends wouldn’t want you sitting here helplessly. I’ll stay with the Harris’, Deb and Kyle.”

“I’m not leaving her. She wouldn’t leave me so I’m not leaving her,” Whitney states with finality.

“Whit, come on she- -” Carli starts, laying a hand on the defender’s arm.

“NO!” Whitney jerks away. “I’m not leaving her. Forget it!”

Tammye walks over and pulls her into a hug. “How about you go back long enough to shower and change, Whit?”

Whitney looks down and though they had been washed off long ago by HAO, in her mind she can still see the streaks of blood on her arms and hands. She slowly shakes her head and looks up at Tammye.

“I can’t. I just...I just can’t,” she whispers.

Tammye pulls her into a hug as they both cry. Tobin walks up and pats Whit on the back.

“I’ll bring you some clothes in the morning, okay?”

Whitney just nods, her head buried in Tammye’s shoulder. The team gives everyone staying hugs then reluctantly heads back to their hotel.

“Come on, honey, let’s go sit down.”

Tammye and the others lead Whit to the chairs as they settle in to wait for the next bit of information on Ash’s condition.  
 

* * *

 

It is close to midnight when Klaus returns to the cabin. Ali looks up, wondering which man she will see: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde. From the door, Klaus gives her an apologetic smile. So, the doctor it is. He hurries over to the couch and drops to his knees in front of Ali.

“I am so, so sorry. I need to learn to control my temper. We all have pasts. I just have to remember that Ashlyn was part of your past and sometimes she will come up.” He cups Ali’s cheek gently, studying the handprint that is still visible. “I promise to never hurt you again.”

“Th...thank you,” Ali whispers.

Klaus smiles and runs his hands over her knees. “How about the two of us head to bed and consummate our marriage? I’ve waited so long to make love to you again.”

“Again?” Ali thinks. “How far gone is he?” She swallows hard. “Klaus, I...I can’t make love to you. Not yet at least,” she says hurriedly when she sees his face start to turn.

“Why not?”

“Because I...I always said I wouldn’t make love again until I was married. In the past, bad things happened when I gave myself too soon,” she explains quickly. “So...so I made a vow to stay chaste until my wedding night when I can give myself over completely to my husband.”

Klaus studies her, trying to find a way around this vow. “But...but we’re married in our hearts. Isn’t that enough?”

Ali sighs. “I wish it was,” she says with false sincerity. “Besides, we’re just getting to know each other again. I want to date you, Klaus. Obviously not long since we do have a wonderful history together.” She sees his eyes sparkle at that statement. Totally the right thing to say, Ali thinks in relief. “But still: won’t it be more special if we get to know each other once more, get engaged, get married, and then make love as husband and wife?” She raises a hand to his cheek, mirroring his earlier action. “It will mean so much more to us that way and we’ll be able to tell our children that we did things the right way.”

He brings a hand up to hers and turns so he can kiss her palm. “That is so sweet. You’re right. We can’t teach our children to wait if we don’t wait. Will...will it be okay if we share a bed?”

Ali swallows. She wants to say no but is worried that will be pushing her luck. She forces a smile to her face. “I think...that will be fine. As long as we stay clothed.”

He nods. “We will.” He stands and pulls her to her feet. “Come, my love.”

Ali just smiles and walks to the bed while he turns out the lights until only the glow from the camp stove gives them any illumination. She lies down on the side of the bed she is chained to and he crawls in behind her, spooning her. She stiffens.

“Is this okay?” he asks softly.

Ali sighs, her mind trying to convince her it’s Ashlyn. “Yeah,” she croaks out. Not even asleep will she be able to believe that lie. He’d killed Ashlyn. She’d never again be held like this by the only person she has ever truly loved. Klaus’ breath soon evens out as he slips into slumber.

It is hours later before Ali cries herself to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

At 7:30 the next morning Foster is finishing his second cup of coffee on the day. Of course, since he’d been working all night you could probably count those two coffees as part of yesterdays. Time just bleeds into time as he sorts through potential leads from the APBs.

Across from him, at her desk, Shepherd throws her pen down. “Son of a bitch,” she mutters. “It’s like he fell off the fucking earth and took Krieger with him!”

Foster shakes his head. “That damn car was our only decent lead. Belongs to the ass and we knows he’s in the RV but he’s either off trail with it or no RV Park on the West Coast is reading the alert that was sent out.” He grabs the background on Davidson he’d been given and starts to read it through again. “Who the fuck are you and where did you go with- -Holy shit...we missed something.”

Shepherd sits forward, eager for any lead. She watches Foster start to type on his computer. His eyes widen.

“Big Sur! Just caught that his grandmother had a place in Big Sur. For some reason in her name not her husband’s even though they lived there in their later years.” He tosses the background to Shepherd. “Guess who died 2 months ago and guess who she left her cabin to in her will?”

Shepherd scans the information. “So you got a guy diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder with an obsession for Ali Krieger and a remote cabin where he can take her to live out his fantasy? Sounds scary right to me.”

The detectives stand to go speak to their boss. They want to drive to Big Sur. Their captain shakes his head.

“That could be a 6 hour goose chase. Let me call a contact up that way and see if we can get a look.”

Foster shakes his head. “No way! This guy has already proven he is willing to kill to hang on to Krieger. You send a cop to knock on his door and who knows what he’ll do next. If he rabbits from there who the hell knows where they will turn up. Right now we have hope she’s alive. If he feels us closing in, she’s dead and you know it, Cap.”

The captain thinks about this a second. He picks up his phone and makes a call. “Hey, Bernie, it’s Mac Olsen down in LA. You still have your pilot’s license?” He listens. “Good. If I send you a location any chance you can fly by it and check for an RV and any signs of life?” Pause. “No, I don’t want a knock on the door. Suspect is considered armed and dangerous and will most likely go down shooting and take his hostage with him.” He sighs. “If we can confirm he is there, we’ll come up with a plan for entry and retrieval. We’ll definitely need your help on this one.” He listens. “Thanks, Bern. I appreciate it.” He hangs up and looks at his detectives. “I’m about to piss you off.”

“Please tell me that wasn’t your damn FBI buddy,” Foster groans.

“One and the same. It’s out of our jurisdiction. Hell, if we confirm it’s a kidnapping it’s theirs anyway,” Olsen points out. “Look, they will have better resources to get in and get Krieger out alive than the locals up there. And Bernie will let you two be part of the take down if it happens.”

Foster and Shepherd exchange a look. Unfortunately, their captain was right on all counts. With a grunt Foster turns and goes back to his desk to see if there is any other rock to overturn. Shepherd nods her thanks to her boss then goes for another cup of coffee.  
 

* * *

 

“Good news, honey, they didn’t have to cut your hair,” Tammye says to her daughter as she threads her fingers through the tresses. “Nope, they just have it pulled back out of the way in case...well, to help them heal you,” she finishes. She takes a deep breath. “Your whole team stayed here until after midnight last night. We had to make them go home. Well, all but Whitney. She refused to leave. Tobin, that sweet girl, promised to bring her a change of clothes today. Whitney’s parents get back from their trip today and have said they are coming right here.” She wipes away a stray tear.

“So, um, the first Victory Tour game has been postponed. You got a nice bouquet of flowers from the Mexican National Team. We can’t bring them in here because you’re not allowed that kind of thing in these rooms. We’ve left them at the nurse’s station for everyone to enjoy. They’ve promised to return them to you when you get moved into a regular recovery room.”

At this point Tammye chokes up too much to speak. There is still a chance Ashlyn will never move to a regular recovery room. Try as she might, the mother can’t look at her daughter and overlook that horrible possibility. Her baby looks so weak, so...so hurt. Bruises have now come up on the blonde’s face, making it look even worse than it had the day before. Tammye lifts her daughter’s right hand and gives it a kiss.

“I love you so much, baby girl. Please don’t leave me. Please,” she begs.  
 

* * *

 

Ali awakens to light caresses on her cheek. In the gift of sleep she can forget the horrors of the real world. In the blessed relief of dreams she imagines it is Ashlyn’s hand stroking her into wakefulness. But when she moves her legs and feels the weight of the shackle on her ankle and hears the clink of the chain links, she is ripped from that Utopian ideal and thrust back into her scary reality.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Klaus says and kisses her cheek.

She shivers. “Good...morning, Klaus.”

“So, how about I make you breakfast then I’ll run to town and buy you a few really pretty dresses? And when I get back you can shower in the RV and we can have our new first date.”

“That...that all sounds...great. Where will we go on our date?” Ali asks, praying for a movie or dinner or anywhere she can get help.

“Well, there is this really pretty clearing not too far from here. We can take a picnic lunch and just talk and stuff. It’ll be really romantic.” He nuzzles her ear. “And maybe we can even share our new first kiss.”

Ali clenches her eyes closed as she tries to will her body to stay relaxed when all she wants to do is scream NO and pummel this sick bastard. She bites her lip then forces a smile to her face.

“Sounds...perfect, Klaus.”

He kisses her cheek once more then hops out of bed, whistling a happy tune as he starts to make breakfast. Ali pulls herself out of bed and walks into the bathroom. As she washes her face, she suddenly realizes what he’s said.

“He’s going to town,” she whispers. “Maybe...maybe I can get away. If I can get this damn shackle off or get the chain off the bed I can make a run for it.”

She is shaking with excitement. She forces herself to finish her morning ritual so he doesn’t get suspicious and then goes out to “enjoy” breakfast with her “boyfriend.” She just has to play along a little longer and she’ll be able to make her escape. Just a little longer...  
 

* * *

 

“Whitney, honey, Tobin is here with your clothes,” Deb says as she strokes the young woman’s hair. The defender had fallen asleep sitting up but Deb had guided her down, wanting to do something instead of just feeling helpless. Whitney had settled nicely with her head on Deb’s leg as exhaustion quickly took her.

Whitney’s eyes slowly blink open. “Any change?” she immediately asks.

“No. They finally let Tammye go back to see her about 10 minutes ago. They said if Ashlyn stays stable they’ll let people see her 1 at a time for a few minutes each hour.”

“A few minutes? That’s all?”

Deb nods. “Yeah. They said too much stimulation can be bad for her right now.”

Whitney looks around the room. She sees Kyle asleep beside Ken, who had arrived at nearly 2 a.m. She sees Ashlyn’s dad and brother staring out a window, obviously waiting for Tammye to come back to tell them about Ash. She sits up and gives Deb a smile.

“Thanks for being my pillow.”

Deb kisses her cheek. “You’re welcome.”

“I guess...no word on Ali?”

Deb just shakes her head, fighting back the tears that are never far from the surface. Whitney gives her a hug.

“She’s fighter. She’ll come back to us. She will.”

The hug ends when Tobin walks over and offers Whitney a duffle bag. “Couple changes of clothes in there in case we can’t get you to leave again.”

Whitney gives her a grin and nods. “Thanks.”

She wanders off to clean up a bit in the bathroom and change. Once in the seclusion of the restroom, Whitney stares at herself in the mirror. She wants to cry, thinking that will alleviate some of the fear and tension in her but she can’t. She leans over and splashes some water on her face. As she lets the water drip down into the sink she takes a deep breath.

“I could lose my best friend and her fiancé. How the hell do I overcome that? How the hell do I even begin to heal from that?” she mutters.

“You won’t be alone, Whit. We’ll all be there to help you through that IF it happens.”

Whitney raises her head and her eyes meet HAO’s in the mirror. “I’m so fucking scared, Heather. I am so fucking scared I don’t know how to process it.”

HAO walks up and hugs her from behind. “First things first: clean up and change. You know how it is: look good, feel good, play good.” This gets a grin from Whitney. “Then you let me take you down to the cafeteria for a somewhat decent meal and a change of scenery. And then when you get your chance to visit Ash you tell her we’re all here, sending prayers and good vibes to her. And when it gets too hard, when you need to scream, you pull one of us aside and let loose. We just take it a moment, a minute, an hour at a time.”

Whitney stares at her friend and then slowly nods. The calm, straightforward words have reached her. She turns and gives HAO a hug.

“Thank you.”

“Any time. Now clean up. You stink,” HAO teases.

Whitney smiles for the first time since they had realized their friends were missing. “Okay.”  
 

* * *

 

FBI Special Agent Bernie Tremble takes off in his ultralight and follows the GPS towards the house that had once belonged to Davidson’s paternal grandmother. It is a nice, clear morning and if it wasn’t such a serious situation he’d probably be enjoying the flight a lot more.

As he starts to follow a barely visible road in the trees he spies the RV that had been part of the APB leaving the area.

“Son of a bitch.” He hits his mic. “Tremble to base.”

“Base here. Go ahead.”

“I just spotted the RV going down the private drive to the cabin. Looks like he’s headed to town.”

“Should we stop it?”

“Negative. We don’t know if Krieger is in there or not. Send a car to the cabin and have another car follow the RV. If you can get him out of it and she isn’t in danger, take him down. I’ll stay your eyes in the sky in case he detours from the town or starts back to the cabin.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tremble circles his ultralight, hoping if Davidson spots him it will just look like a pilot out for fun on a nice day.  
 

* * *

 

As soon as Klaus had left, Ali had started to shake in anticipation. She listens as the RV rumbles to life and starts down the rutted driveway. She hears it for quite a while as it disappears in the distance which tells her she’ll also hear it coming back. She sits on the bed and pulls her ankle up. She yanks at the lock and the clasp but they will not give. She tries to yank the cuff over her foot but even with her sock off it’s just no use.

“FUCK!”

She drops to the ground and grabs at the metal bedframe. She runs her hand over it but it was obviously a well-made show piece. Solid metal and firm welds make it impossible to pull apart. She is also unable to pull apart the welded chain. She needs a tool of some sort. She stands and scans the cabin. The fireplace tools. If she can get the poker maybe she can use it to pry a chain link apart or maybe even pry open the lock on her ankle.

“There’s got to be a way to reach them,” she mutters, knowing they were too far away last night.

She gets as close as she can to them, lying on the ground and stretching out her hand. Her arms need to be about 3 feet longer. She stands and looks around, her eyes falling on the table and chairs. She runs over and grabs one of the chairs and starts back to the tools. If she can use the chair to snag the top of the stand and tip it towards her she can then use the chair to pull the poker to her.

“YES!” She screams in elation when it works and she gets her hand on the poker.

But as she starts back to the bed, her blood turns to ice. She hears a car coming up the drive. She considers trying to put the tools back so she doesn’t anger Klaus then shakes her head.

“FUCK HIM! I’ll go down fighting!” she vows.

She grabs the bed and drags it towards the door. She then stations herself just to the side of the cabin door, the poker swung back like a Louisville Slugger. She hears the vehicle stop and tenses her arms. Years of lifting had prepared her for this in a way that will shock the hell out of Klaus. Her mouth is pulled back in a feral sneer as she hears footsteps approach the door. Someone starts to slowly turn the door handle, then the door is flung open.

“FB- -UGH!”

Ali had swung with all she was worth and catches the FBI agent right in the chest. He drops to the ground, gasping for air. Ali stares at him in confusion.

“DROP THE WEAPON!” someone else yells.

Ali looks up at the man standing in the door, gun leveled at the right back. She is so very confused and pulls the poker back as if to swing again. The man slowly lowers his gun, extending his hand free peacefully.

“Ms. Krieger, we’re the FBI. We’re here to take you home.”

“H...Home?”

“Yes, ma’am. You’ve got quite a few people waiting for you.”

Ali drops the poker and falls to her knees. “Home...there is no home without Ashlyn,” she mumbles, tears of fear, relief and grief tracking down her cheeks.  
 

* * *

 

“Car 1 to Tremble, we’ve got Krieger.”

“Copy. All agents move in. Take that bastard down.”


	10. Chapter 10

Detectives Foster and Shepherd were not happy they couldn’t be there to rescue Ali and take down Klaus. But since it’s not often they deliver such good news to family members they’ll just be glad for the win. When they walk into the waiting room all eyes turn to them. Deb, Ken and Kyle stand up nervously.

Foster smiles at them. “The FBI rescued Ali about 20 minutes ago.”

“OH!” Deb exclaims as she drops to the ground in relief.

Ken just buries his face in his hand and sobs as Kyle drops into a chair. The team cheers.

Shepherd continues the report. “They are taking her for a quick check up but it looks like other than minor injuries from the accident she is okay. Seems the freak thought he was sweeping her away to live happily ever after.”

“But he’ll go to jail forever, right? Like he won’t be able to hurt Ali or my sister again, right?” Chris asks, patting Kyle on the shoulder comfortingly.

Foster nods. “He will definitely be in custody the rest of his life. Even if they try to get his mental state admitted they’d have a hard time showing he wasn’t in control considering how elaborate his attack was, how he killed 2 people, and how he knew to flee with Ali and chain her to a bed.”

Deb’s eyes snap up. “He...he chained her...he...”

Foster blushes, kicking himself for blurting that out. “He cuffed her ankle and chained it to a bed. Sounds like she had room to move around but couldn’t leave the cabin.”

Carli and Whitney help Deb up into a chair. Foster walks over and kneels down in front of the woman.

“Your daughter is a hell of a woman. She wasn’t just going to accept being his prisoner. He’d left the cabin and she figured out a way to fight back.” He grins. “Took out an FBI agent with a well swung fireplace poker. Had he not been wearing a vest she’d have broken his ribs. Had it been Davidson entering the cabin, she’d have taken him down. Guess her brother was right when he said she’s a warrior and a survivor.”

Deb smiles proudly through her tears. “Damn right she is. Damn right.”  
 

* * *

 

Ali had grown quieter and quieter as the physical examination had gone on. She allowed the nurse to photograph all her bruises and cuts from the accident and subsequent abduction and given a statement on how she had been transported from Topanga up to Big Sur as best she could remember.

“Well, Ms. Krieger, I’d say you are good to go. Your bruises and cuts will heal in a no time and you’ll be able to put all this behind you,” the doctor says, trying to get his patient happy.

Ali slowly lifts her eyes, glaring at the man. “Put it behind me? Put it BEHIND ME?! That BASTARD murdered my fiancé! How do I put THAT behind me?!”

She leaps off the exam table and grabs the scrubs a nurse had given her to wear home. She pulls them on then storms out of the room, leaving the stunned doctor behind. As she gets to the waiting room a casually dressed man steps towards her holding out his credentials.

“SSA Tremble, ma’am. Glad you are okay.”

She knocks his credentials away. “I am NOT okay! My Ashlyn is dead because of that bastard Klaus! I’ll NEVER be okay again!”

She starts to storm past him but Tremble grabs her arm.

“Dead? Ma’am, Ashlyn Harris is alive.”

Ali skids to a halt. She slowly turns, studying the man carefully for any signs of deceit. “Wh...what?”

“She’s alive. Last I heard still in a coma but alive. I’ve got an agent waiting outside to race you back to LA to see her.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a disposable phone. “And I thought you may want to call your parents. They’ve been told you’re okay but they probably want to hear it right from you.”

“Ashlyn’s...alive?” Ali is still stuck on that point. “But...he pushed the van down the cliff. I heard it!”

“I’m not sure what all happened up there but somehow she got out before it went over. A couple of your teammates found her on the side of the canyon.”

Ali looks from the man to the phone in her hand. With shaking fingers she dials a number she knows by heart.  
 

* * *

 

Deb looks down as her phone starts to ring. It is a number she doesn’t recognize and she nearly ignores it. Then seeing that it is a California area code, she goes ahead and answers.

“Hello?”

“Mommy?”

“ALEX!”

“WHAT?” Alex Morgan hollers back.

“No, I think she means her Alex,” Tobin notes as she sees Deb on the phone and crying.

The team crowds around as Deb puts her phone on speaker.

“Mommy, is she alive? Is Ash alive?”

“Oh, Alex, yes, Ash is alive. We’re here at the hospital waiting for her to wake up. Something tells me as soon as she hears your voice she’ll start to come around.”

“Oh, God...oh, God, she...oh...”

“Alex, honey, are you okay? Really, baby?”

“I’m fine. I’m coming there. I’m...well, fuck, I don’t know where I am but Agent Tremble said I can be there in about 5 hours. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart. We all do. We can’t wait to see you.”

“LOVE YOU, KRIEGY!” Pinoe yells on behalf of the team.

Ali laughs through a sob. “Love you guys, too. See you soon. And if she wakes up before I get there tell Ash I’m okay and I love her so much.”

“You got it, Kiddo,” Ken promises his daughter as he hugs his son.  
 

* * *

 

Four and a half hours later, Ken Krieger leaps up.

“ALEX!”

“What?” Alex Morgan answers again.

“Still not you,” ARod chuckles as her eyes fill with tears.

Ali had barely made it into the room before she is engulfed by her parents, Kyle, Chris and Ashlyn’s parents. No one can speak. All they can do is hold the defender as they all cry. After a few minutes, Ali eases back and looks into Tammye’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen to her.”

Tammye runs her hand over Ali’s hair. “Not your fault, child. Not your fault. I am so glad you’re okay. I love you, sweet girl.”

“I love you, too. Can...can I see her?”

Tammye glances at the clock. “We have 5 more minutes before someone can go back there.”

“I think I can make an exception,” one of the nurses says, having watched the reunion.

Ali hugs her family once more, then turns to the team. “Guys, I- -”

“Go see your girl, Kriegs. We’ll be here when you get back,” Hope promises.

Ali nods and follows the nurse down the hall. The nurse smiles. “Considering you’re in scrubs I doubt anyone will notice that you went in a little early.”

Ali manages a smile. “How...how bad is she? I mean, what can I expect?”

“The coma is induced to give her body time to heal. The doctor checked her this morning and she’s doing fine. He’s pretty sure this afternoon he can start reducing her meds which means she can wake up in a day or two.” She lays a hand on Ali’s arm. “She’s cut up, bruised, has an arm in a cast so she looks bad. But she has the best medical care possible, she has more love in that waiting room than anyone I’ve ever seen, not to mention all the fans that had to be sent away, and now she has her fiancé back. My vote is on Ashlyn to make a full recovery in no time flat.”

Ali smiles at the kind woman. “Thank you.”

She takes a deep breath and pushes the door open. Her eyes first notice the dim lighting then all the machines hooked up to Ashlyn. Ali slowly walks over to the right side of the bed and lifts the hand that lies upon the bed.

“Ashlyn? Ash, baby, it’s me. It’s your Alex. I’m here and I’m okay.” She kisses the strong hand she holds. “He didn’t hurt me, honey. He just...wanted to marry me so he never, ever hurt me. So don’t be worried about me. I’m just fine.” She leans over and kisses Ashlyn on the cheek. “I’m just fine except for missing you more than words can say. So come back to me, baby. Come back to me so in a few weeks we can stand in front of our friends and say our vows and start our lives together.”

Her words choke off at the end as she sobs and starts to cry. She holds Ashlyn’s hand to her cheek, hoping this isn’t a cruel dream. If she were to wake up in the cabin, Ashlyn still dead, she won’t survive.

“Please be real. Please, oh, please let this be real,” she whispers as she kisses each of Ashlyn’s fingers.

As if in reply, Ashlyn’s hand tightens around Ali’s. Ali smiles as she watches that hand hold hers.

“Yes, Ash! Yes, keep squeezing my hand. Hold it if it helps you find your way back to me. I made it back to you, sweetheart, time for you to find me.”  
 

* * *

 

The meds keeping Ash in a coma were reduced in the afternoon and stopped completely that night. From that point forward, it was simply a waiting game. The doctors also felt the keeper was now strong enough to have more than one visitor an hour and established a 3 people at a time rule with no time limit.

Ali had finally left the room to change into something other than scrubs and talk to her relieved teammates. She gotten hugs from everyone and more than a few tears were spilled. As she finishes getting a hug from Morgan Brian, the youngster pulls her close again.

“I almost forgot. Lauren made me promise to give you a hug from her, too,” Moe says with a smile.

Ali chuckles. “Tell her thank you.” She sighs. “I can never thank you all enough for...for being there for me and Ash and our parents.” She looks at Whit and Pinoe. “Especially the two of you. If you hadn’t found her...” she can’t finish the statement.

Pinoe pulls her into a hug. “You’d both have done the same for any one of us.”

“In a heartbeat. But let’s not ever put that to the test,” she adds with a wink.

“Deal!”

ARod suddenly grabs Ali’s left hand. “Al...where’s your ring?”

Ali looks at her hand and tears fill her eyes again. “Damn it! How the hell can I keep crying?” She takes a deep breath to collect herself. “That fucking bastard saw it and got mad about it. He pulled it off and threw it out the cabin door into the woods.” She takes a deep breath. “But, hey, it’s just a ring. The real prize is in a room down the hall. And soon I’ll have a wedding band from her so, well, it’s okay.”

“That sucks, Ali. Maybe you can get another one,” Sydney suggests.

Ali shakes her head. “No, really. I’m fine. I have Ashlyn. That’s all that matters to me. The ring was a symbol of our love. Ashlyn _is_ my love.”

“Awwwww,” echoes through the room as her teammates gush.

“ALI!” Chris races into the room. All eyes turn to him. He says the words even though his smile says it all. “SHE’S AWAKE!”  
 

* * *

 

Krieger’s and Harris’ pace in the hallway as two doctors evaluate the newly awakened patient. The twenty minutes of tension are almost worse than the hours of not knowing. Now it was the worry she would slip back under without having spoken to them. Finally the doctors walk out, smiling.

“She’s tired and she still has a ways to go, but she should recover 100%.”

“So her mind...from the blood loss...” Ali questions.

“Passed all her cognitive tests so no significant memory impairment.”

“What do you mean by ‘significant’?” Ashlyn’s father asks.

“Right now she doesn’t remember the accident. She does seem to know you were missing, Ms. Krieger,” he says to Ali, “but she’s not sure what led to that. Most likely it will come back to her in time as she continues to heal.”

“So can I see her now?” Ali asks.

He nods. “Of course. If she continues to improve we’ll move her from ICU to a regular care floor tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Ali says and pushes past him into the room.

Ali takes a deep breath and walks over to the bed. She strokes a hand over Ashlyn’s head then leans down and gives her a gentle kiss on the lips. As if she is Sleeping Beauty awaiting the kiss of her one true love, Ashlyn’s eyes flutter open. She manages to smile up at Ali.

“Worst. Day. Ever.” She whispers.

Ali lets a tear slip down her cheek as she shakes her head. “No. Best day ever. You’re alive, Ashlyn. I got you back.”

Ali leans down and kisses her again. Ashlyn lifts her right arm up and strokes Ali’s hair. “Love...you...”

“Love you, too, baby. Oh, baby, I love you so much.”


	11. Chapter 11

After the initial chat with Ali, Ashlyn had fallen asleep once more. Throughout the night she had woken up on and off, having somewhat disjointed conversations with her family members. As night crept into day, her eyes open once more.

“Planning on sticking around this time, sis? It hurts when you fall asleep when I am mid-sentence,” Chris teases as he holds Ashlyn’s hand.

Ashlyn gives him a weak smile. “Sorry, Bubba, usually your riveting conversation keeps me on the edge of my seat. We’ll just blame the mountain climbing for my passing out on you.”

Chris smiles down at his sister. They stare at each other a moment, their eyes conveying a love to which words could never do justice. He leans down and hugs her as best he can, careful that his strong arms don’t hurt her.

“I love you so much, Ash. I was so damn scared we were gonna lose you,” he chokes out.

She pats his shoulder with her right hand. “Sorry, Chris. Sorry I scared all of you. I love you.”

After he gets his tears under control, he stands up. “So, um, since you’re ruining my tough image with all this damn crying I am doing next round of beers is on you,” he decides with a smile.

Ashlyn chuckles. “Deal, Bubba. Definitely a deal.”

“Room for one more in there?” Ken Krieger asks.

Chris steps aside as Ash holds out her hand to her fiance’s father. He takes it and steps up to the bed.

“I never got a chance to tell you how happy I am you’re okay, Ash. I mean, a bit busted up, but okay.”

Ashlyn nods. “Yeah, I have definitely felt better.” Her head lolls to her left, where Ali is wrapped up in a blanket as she sleeps in a chair. “Is she really okay? I mean...he didn’t...you know...hurt her, right?”

Ken knows what Ashlyn is trying not to put into words. He squeezes her hand. “He never raped her, Ash.” Ashlyn breathes a sigh of relief. Ken smiles proudly. “Alex convinced him she wanted to stay chaste until they were married and wanted a true courtship with him.”

Ashlyn smiles. “Smart. Glad he fell for that chaste bit.” And then she blushes as she realizes what she said and who she said it to. “Uh, I mean...she is...I mean...we...”

Ken laughs and pats her on the shoulder. “I’ll blame the meds for that slip-up and continue to believe my girl is an innocent little flower.”

Ashlyn is blushing even more. “Um, sure. We’ll...go with that. I think...I need to pass out again now. Hopefully.”

Ken chuckles and gives her a kiss on the cheek. “Rest, Ashlyn. Something tells me as soon as you get moved to a new room with fewer visitor restrictions there will be a parade of red, white, and blue coming through the door.”

Ashlyn smiles. “Yeah, I hope so.” Ashlyn’s eyes close and she lets herself sleep some more.

Ken glances up and sees his daughter smiling at her father and fiancé. “She’s something special, Alex.”

“Damn right she is, Dad. Damn right she is.”  
 

* * *

 

Though the team as a whole is eager to see Ashlyn, they agree to let Pinoe and Whit enter first. Ashlyn’s face lights up as she sees them.

“My heroes,” she says.

She hugs them both as tight as she can. When they lean back, Ashlyn shakes her head.

“I’d have died if it wasn’t for you two taking it upon yourselves to go check out that accident scene,” Ash says, having heard from her mother how she was found. “I don’t know how to ever repay that.”

“No repayment needed, Ash,” Whitney says. “We’re just glad you’re okay. But scare me like that again and I will beat you into next year,” she threatens with a grin.

“Understood.”

“Now, I don’t agree with this whole ‘no payment needed’ thing,” Pinoe states. “I am thinking firstborn daughter should be Megan Whitney Krieger-Harris.”

Whit turns to her as Ashlyn chuckles. “Uh, why not Whitney Megan? I’m the one that slid down the side of the canyon.”

Pinoe wrinkles up her nose. “Oh, no. No, that just doesn’t flow well at all. Besides I drove the van AND called 911 AND directed the EMT’s where to go.”

“And I repeat: I slid down the damn canyon.” Whitney turns back to Ash. “Maybe you should hope for firstborn twins.”

Ash laughs and squeezes Whitney’s hand. “Ali Krieger pregnant with twins? Did you save me so she could end me?”

Whitney rolls her eyes. “Good point.”

Pinoe pats Ash’s leg. “So ready to see everyone else? I have a feeling a certain Baby Horse is ready to start a stampede if we don’t let them in.”

Ashlyn just nods as Pinoe goes to the door to admit the team. Alex Morgan is first in the door and sobs onto Ashlyn’s shoulder, clutching the keeper’s right hand.

“Hey, now, Alex, I am okay,” Ashlyn whispers. “I’ll just need you pushing my ass next camp a little more than normal. But I will be fine. I promise.”

Alex leans up and stares into confident green eyes. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Alex gives her a kiss on the cheek and steps aside so the others can speak to their friend. Hope steps up and lifts an eyebrow.

“If you think this means you can slack off in keeper training you’ve got another thing coming.”

Ashlyn gives an innocent look. “Who me? Slack off? Neverrrrr!”

Hope grins and gives her a hug, knowing that as Ash heals she will most likely be pushing harder than most would to retake her spot on the team. And at the same time cracking jokes to make the other keepers laugh through training.

“Get better soon, Ash.”

Jill steps up next and pats her on the arm. “Get well soon, Ash. I want to see you on the pitch come the Algarve Cup.”

Ashlyn nods, proud of the coach’s confidence in her. “Thanks, Coach. I’ll be there.”

Gradually each team member gets their moment with Ash. Then they all hang out laughing and boosting her spirits until about noon. Then Jill claps her hands.

“Well, ladies, let’s get back to the hotel for lunch. We’ve got training this afternoon.” The team all groans. “Hey now, we’ve got a game in a week. And we’ll be two players short.” She looks back at Ash. “But hopefully both of those players can be on the sidelines cheering us on.”

Ashlyn nods. “We’ll be there. Promise.”

After the team leaves, Ali walks back in alone. Ash looks behind her in confusion.

“Where’s the rest of our family?”

“Getting lunch. They are bringing me something. I...wanted to talk to you alone.” She walks over and hitches her hip up onto the bed, taking Ashlyn’s hand. “Baby, do you...want to postpone the wedding?”

Ashlyn frowns. “What? Why? Hell no!”

“Are you sure? I mean, you’ll still be healing and stuff and- -”

“Alex, stop. First of all, I don’t care if they have to strap me to a dolly and roll me up the aisle, I am marrying you on the beach in front of our friends and family the Saturday after Thanksgiving.” She lifts up Ali’s hand and kisses it. “Deal with it.” Ali just smiles. “Second of all...stop feeling guilty about this,” she orders, seeing the real reason Ali is nervous. “It is not your fault that someone with deep-seeded mental issues developed an obsession with you. Hell, most people think _I_   have deep-seeded mental issues so maybe an obsession with you is part of the package.” Ali actually laughs at that. Ashlyn smiles. “What Klaus did to us is all on him, not on you. I love you, Alexandra Blaire Krieger, and nothing is going to stop me from marrying you, having babies with you, and growing old with you.”

Ali tears up...again! “I love you, too.”

Ashlyn carefully scoots to her left. “Lay down here, baby. You’ve got bags under your eyes we could haul equipment in.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“All the damage is on my left. I need to feel you close to me, Alex. Please,” Ashlyn begs. Her eyes reflect the same fear Ali is dealing with: that this is all a dream and their love is still lost.

Ali takes a deep breath then does as Ashlyn requested. She cuddles into her right side. “I love you so much. I...I was so scared and angry when I thought he’d killed you. I’d have never been happy again.”

Ashlyn kisses her lover’s temple. “No need to dwell on it. I am right here, with you in my arms, and everything is feeling pretty damn good right now.”

Ali grins. “That’s just the meds.”

“No, sweetheart, that’s just the love.”

Ali smiles and snuggles a little closer, loving the feel of Ashlyn’s arm protectively around her. The brunette drifts off to sleep, getting her first real rest since the night before Klaus attacked them. The blonde just smiles. Yes, everything is feeling just fine.  
 

* * *

 

Klaus Davidson is found hanging in his cell 2 days later. He would never get a chance to hurt Ali or Ash again. He had paid for his obsession with his life.


	12. Chapter 12

Kyle Krieger sprays one last squirt of hairspray and steps back from his sister. He smiles proudly when he sees all the little fly-aways are tamed for now. He grins and spreads his arms.

“Ta-da!”

Ali turns and looks in the mirror of the vanity in Tammye’s bedroom. She smiles as she sees her hair is, in fact, worthy of a Ta-da moment.

“Oh, Kyle! It’s perfect! It’s exactly what I wanted!”

“Duh! Who you think you’re working with here?” he teases.

She stands and gives him a hug. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem. Since I’ve already styled Ashlyn and the mothers of the brides, my work is done. Now all I need to do is stand beside my hero as she marries the love of her life.”

Ali smiles. “Perfect.”

“So, you ready to get your dress on?” her best friend Liz asks. “I think we have helpers for that.”

“Not surprising,” Ali says with a grin.

She and Kyle follow Liz to Ashlyn’s childhood bedroom to find HAO, Arod, Alex, and Sydney waiting to help Ali get ready. It takes an hour to get Ali into her dress, her headpiece (a tiara, of course!), and get a quick touch up on her make-up. When she finishes, Sydney claps her hands together.

“Oh, you look so pretty!”

“Absolutely stunning!” Deb agrees as she and Tammye walk in.

Ali is staring at a tri-fold mirror that had been set up in the room for her. She has tears in her eyes. “I really do look like a princess!”

Her white A-line style gown has a beaded bodice with princess neckline. In deference to the beach location it is midway between tea-length and ankle length. For the ceremony, Ali will be shoeless, so she has a beautiful diamond anklet on her left leg. When they move to the tents for the reception, she will slip on some flats for dancing. Maybe. She figures that is a “game time” decision.

Tammye gives her a kiss on the cheek. “My Ashlyn might pass out when she sees you.”

Ali blushes. “I hope not. But if she does...we’ll blame the rib injury.” The women chuckle.

“So,” Deb says clapping her hands together, “let’s make sure we send you out there with all the luck we can. Do you have something borrowed?”

“I lent her the bracelet I wore at my wedding,” ARod states.

“Good. Something blue?” Deb continues.

Ali grins. “My garter is Carolina Blue.”

“GO HEELS!” HAO cheers, making everyone laugh.

“Something new?”

Ali fingers her earrings. “Ashlyn gave me these as a wedding gift. She...she had them custom-made to match my engagement ring,” she says sadly, unconsciously rubbing her thumb over her now bare left ring finger.

“Okay, then what about something old?” Deb asks with a knowing smile.

“I believe that’s my cue,” Kyle says and steps forward.

He holds out his right hand...where Ali’s engagement ring sparkles on the end of his pinkie finger. Her eyes go wide.

“MY RING! HOW?”

Kyle pulls it off and slips it onto his shaking sister’s hand. “I got a group of guys together and got permission from that FBI Agent Tremble to go up there and look for your ring. We had a couple metal detectors and I stood at the doorway of the cabin and threw a bunch of marbles out into the woods to give us an idea how far a ring might have traveled. Took us about 2 hours but we found it,” he says proudly.

Ali throws her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Kyle. Thank you so, so much!”

As she steps back he shakes his head. “Got to stop the waterworks, sis! Make up!”

Everyone laughs as the girls help Ali get her make up touched up once more. Just as Kyle once again declares her perfect, Ken knocks on the door.

“It’s time.”  
 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, at the neighbor’s house, Chris stares at his sister. “You know, I thought you’d be nervous.”

Ashlyn smiles as she straightens her bowtie. “I am. Just...not as nervous as I expected either.” She pauses. “I almost lost her, Chris. We nearly lost each other. Guess that put it in perspective for me.”

“How so?”

“In both of our circumstances back in Cali we fought to stay alive and fought to get back to each other. Can you think of anything in a marriage that could be so dire? If we could survive all that shit, getting down the aisle with the woman I love should be the easiest thing in the world.”

He smiles and pats her on the shoulders. “I see what you mean.” He studies her in the mirror. “You look great, Ash. Ali is going to faint when she sees your colour scheme.”

Ashlyn smiles as she studies her outfit. Dark slacks rolled up to mid shin. White, dress button down with sleeves rolled up, mostly to accommodate the cast on her left arm. And a vest with matching bowtie in Penn State blue. Chris’ outfit is the same while Whitney wears a tea-length dress in dark blue. All three would be barefoot. Whitney walks in at that point with Kelley, Pinoe, Tobin, Sarah Huffman, and Hope.

“Whoa! Someone cleans up good!” Kelley jokes.

Ashlyn smirks. “Like you all didn’t know I had style.”

Hope grins and walks over. “So, do you have all your good luck pieces?”

“Good luck pieces?” Ashlyn questions.

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?” Hope states.

“Oh. That. Thought that was just for the bride in the dress.”

“Are you kidding? You two kids need all the luck you can get!” Pinoe states. “Good thing we’re on this. Kelley?”

Kelley kneels down and puts a diamond anklet on Ashlyn’s left leg. “This will match Ali’s. It’s your something new from the five of us and Abby.”

Ashlyn smiles. “Thanks, guys. That’s so cool.”

“And here’s your something borrowed,” Sarah says as she puts a lapel pin on Ashlyn’s vest. “Abby wore it on our wedding day. Hope it makes you happy as it made us.”

“Thank you. I hope so, too.”

“For your something old, Grandma asked me to give you these,” Chris said, extending his hands. “She wore them for her wedding.”

Ashlyn takes the diamond earrings and just nods, tearing up as she puts them in. “I can’t believe she had these for so long.”

“They were the only thing worth anything they had back then. She said she knows you will treasure them as she always has.”

“Damn right I will.” She stares at herself in the mirror, nodding as she approves of what she sees. “So, um, is that it?”

“Nope. Still need something blue,” Tobin points out. “Hope this will work.” She steps forward and ties a friendship bracelet to Ash’s right wrist. “The light blue symbolizes friendship, harmony, tranquility and calmness. The dark blue symbolizes calmness, tranquility, harmony, eternity and purity. Woven together may your marriage always be blessed by all of those things and, when times get hard, know you’ve married your best friend but you still have other friends to lean on when you need us.”

Ashlyn has tears in her eyes as she pulls her old friend into a hug. “Thanks, Tobes. This is...wow...thank you.”

Tobin blushes as the hug ends. “No problem.”

Tobin steps back to her friends and gets a couple pats on the back. They knew she was handling the “something blue” but she hadn’t told them what she was doing. It was perfect. Just then Ashlyn’s dad knocks on the door.

“It’s time.”  
 

* * *

 

Ashlyn nearly _does_ pass out when Ali comes into view. She always knew the brunette would be a beautiful bride but has found her imagination had nothing on reality. When they are finally hand in hand in front of their friends and family, Ali smiles and runs a hand down Ashlyn’s vest.

“Penn State blue.”

Ashlyn smiles. “Yeah. Seemed right.”

Ali leans closer. “I have something on in Carolina Blue but you’ll have to find it later,” she whispers.

Ashlyn blushes brightly as Abby, who’d heard the comment, hides a chuckle behind a cough. Ali just grins and turns her attention to their officiant. Abby grins.

“Friends and Family, we are gathered here today at the altar of nature’s beauty to witness the joining of Alexandra Blaire Krieger and Ashlyn Michelle Harris...”  
 

* * *

 

The party lasts long into the night. Ashlyn enjoys an especially meaningful dance with Kyle, beyond touched at what he had done to retrieve Ali’s engagement ring. Ali had danced with Chris, laughing giddily as he had lifted her up and spun her around as if she weighed nothing.

The two women had honeymooned for a week in Cancun, before reporting to camp to prepare for a mid-December tourney in Brazil. Well, Ali to play in it, Ashlyn to continue rehabbing from her arm, rib and lung injuries.

After the tourney in Brazil, Ali had officially told US Soccer she was taking a leave to start a family. Though Ash and Ali knew it was rare to get pregnant the first time, they were still disappointed that the first IVF in January didn’t take.

In February, Ashlyn is named to the team going to the Algarve Cup in March. She is thrilled because she knows she will most likely finally get some game time in now that Hope has retired to start her own family. When the US wins the championship, with Ashlyn in goal, the keeper is ecstatic! Heif calls her over to do a quick Q&A for a Behind the Crest episode and she happily agrees. She answers several standard “good to be back?” “how’s it feeling?” questions, then he slips in the question she isn’t expecting.

“Do you think you will have to change your training now that Ali is pregnant?”

“No, I don’t think- -”

Ashlyn’s happy smile falls from her face as she pales. She stares into Heif’s mischievous eyes. He nods behind her. She spins around and sees a glowing Ali holding up a sign with one symbol on it: +.

Ashlyn takes a couple unsure steps towards her wife. “Are...are you serious? Are you...are we...?”

Ali nods. “Second times the charm!”

“WHOOO HOOO!”

Ashlyn races forward and swoops her wife up in the air spinning her around as Ali hugs her neck tightly. The blonde finally sets the brunette down, rubbing her stomach reverently.

“So...really...a baby is in there? Our baby?”

Ali nods, her hand covering Ashlyn’s. “Really. The doctor confirmed it the day before yesterday so I had to fly out here to tell you in person.”

Ashlyn pulls her into a deep kiss as their teammates start to cheer and spray them with stringfetti. The couple had been through the worse and now, for sure, their lives are only going to be for the better.

“I love you, Alex,” Ashlyn whispers, oblivious to their happy friends.

“I love you, too, Ash.”

They kiss once more, both imagining how much happier their lives will be in just a few short months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hope you enjoyed that crazy little ride and the crazy little freakazoid after our gals. If you hated him, I did it right. :o)
> 
> Working on a third story but it is quite a bit longer as it spans about 5 years of their (made up) lives. Aiming to have it done by Thanksgiving if work and the rescue critters cooperate. 
> 
> Thank you for coming along for the ride. Hope you had fun with this little folly. See you soon!  
> \--AR


End file.
